SANTA MONICA—Judson Birza, the million-dollar winner of the recent Nicaragua edition of “Survivor” in which he was more popularly known as “Fabio,” was arrested around noon on Wednesday, January 19, in Santa Monica.
Birza was detained when he was spotted skateboarding in the middle of a street, a vehicle code violation. The officer also noticed he was exhibiting strange behavior; therefore, he was arrested for being under the influence of a substance, which was not disclosed.
It was then discovered that Birza already had an outstanding arrest warrant stemming from an earlier DUI incident, and he was also in violation of a probation sentence.
Birza was jailed and later released on $37,000 bail. He had a court appearance the following day.
Birza became the youngest “Survivor” champion when he won the contest at the age of 21. The native of Lake St. Louis, Mo., also works as a male model. He earned the “Fabio” nickname (in reference to the famous fashion model) from fellow contestant Shannon Elkins due to his laid-back approach to the contest.
The next season of “Survivor,” called “Redemption Island,” is set to premiere on Wednesday, February 16.