Laguna Beach Bad Boy in Rehab

Thu., May. 10, 2007 2:34 PM PDT by Gina Serpe

Jason Wahler is apparently trying to put his Beach bum status behind him.

A Los Angeles County judge has delayed The Hills and Laguna Beach alum's 60-day jail sentence for assault to allow the arrest-prone reality star time to sober up with a much needed stint in rehab.

The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office confirmed to E! Online Thursday that Wahler's sentence, which was due to begin no later than May 4, has been suspended while the 20-year-old attempts to clean up his act. A progress report has been scheduled for June 8.

The headline-grabbing MTV vet was originally ordered to surrender at the Los Angeles County jail last week after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from a bust last September. Wahler was arrested for punching both a tow-truck driver and a Department of Transportation officer, as well as hurling a litany of racist remarks at the twosome that would make Don Imus blush. All this while blowing a 0.22 on the Breathalyzer, nearly three times the legal blood-alcohol limit.

In addition to the jail time, which has been delayed but not officially dropped, Wahler was also sentenced to 36 months' probation, 36 hours of anger-management classes and 104 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

While Wahler has avoided the slammer, it might just be a temporary reprieve.

A month after being sentenced in L.A., Wahler was arrested in Seattle, a possible probation violation.

On Apr. 8, the SoCal native was collared for criminal trespassing and assault, after allegedly launching into a racist and homophobic tirade against a police officer. The officer had been called to a local hotel to break up an impromptu wrestling match between an allegedly intoxicated Wahler and his friend.

While Wahler has yet to be formally charged for the Seattle incident, Los Angeles city prosecutors say they will inform the judge of the arrest at next month's progress hearing.

Wahler has apparently taken his reality TV bad-boy image to heart.

Also in March, he was busted at a Greenville, North Carolina, nightclub by undercover Alcohol Law Enforcement agents, who arrested Wahler on charges of resisting arrest after bombarding the officer with a series of false birthdates to cover his law-breaking tracks.

His string of legal tussles kicked off last September, when he was found guilty of resisting arrest and bribery stemming from an arrest in New York.