Justin Timberlake pleads guilty to impaired driving on Long Island
Justin Timberlake pleads guilty to impaired driving
SAG HARBOR, N.Y. (AP) — Justin Timberlake is urging drivers not to get behind the wheel after even a single alcoholic drink, as part of his sentence for driving while impaired in the Hamptons in New York. The boy band singer-turned-solo star pleaded guilty Friday and was also sentenced to a $500 fine with a $260 surcharge, 25 hours of community service and a 90-day suspension of his license.
LONG ISLAND - Justin Timberlake urged drivers not to get behind the wheel of a car after even a single alcoholic drink on Friday, shortly after pleading guilty to driving while impaired in New York’s Hamptons earlier this year.
The public safety announcement in front of the Sag Harbor police department was part of the plea deal that knocked down the misdemeanor charge he’d faced to a non-criminal traffic violation. The boy band singer-turned-solo star and actor was also sentenced to a $500 fine with a $260 surcharge, 25 hours of community service at the nonprofit of his choosing and a 90-day suspension of his license.
"I try to hold myself to a very high standard, for myself, and this was not that," Timberlake told the news media and other onlookers after the hearing in the adjacent Sag Harbor Village Court.
"Even if you’ve had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car," he said. "There’s so many alternatives. Call a friend. Take an Uber. There’s many travel apps. Still, take a taxi. This is a mistake that I made, but I'm hoping that whoever is watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake. I know that I certainly have."
Timberlake enters court on Friday.
The pop star originally pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated and had his driver’s license suspended during a hearing last month.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office, which is prosecuting the case, declined to comment ahead of the hearing, as did Timberlake’s attorney, Edward Burke.
Why was Justin Timberlake arrested?
Timberlake was arrested in Sag Harbor on Long Island a little after midnight on June 18 after police said he ran a stop sign in the village center, veered out of his lane and got out of his BMW smelling of alcohol.
Police in court filings also said the 43-year-old Tennessee native’s eyes were "bloodshot and glassy" and that he had "slowed speech," was unsteady on his feet and performed poorly on all sobriety tests.
Timberlake told the officer he had had one martini and was following some friends home, police said. Timberlake's license suspension in New York likely impacts his ability to drive in other states, a legal expert said this week.
Refusing a Breathalyzer test, as Timberlake did during his arrest, triggers an automatic suspension of one's license under New York state law, which should then be enforced in other states, according to Kenneth Gober, a managing partner at the law firm Lee, Gober & Reyna in Austin, Texas.
"Most states participate in the interstate Driver’s License Compact, an agreement to share information about license suspensions and traffic violations," he explained in an email. "If a license is suspended in one state it should be suspended in all states."
In practice, though, it can take a long time for such changes to be reflected across state lines, Gober acknowledged. The pop star also has the resources to easily arrange for a driver and doesn’t need a car to drive to do his job, he added.
Timberlake’s agent and other representatives didn’t respond to emails seeking comment this week.
PHILIP MARCELO, with the Associated Press, helped contribute to this report.