EAST HAMPTON, NY — EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — Justin Timberlake isn’t the first celebrity to be arrested in the Hamptons. The beach communities on the east side of Long Island are popular with the rich and famous, and some have gotten into trouble there, much of it involving vehicles. Here are a few examples:
BILLY JOEL
Singer Billy Joel and Long Island commercial fishermen from the East Hampton Baymen’s Association were accused of illegally catching striped bass during a July 1992 protest against fishing regulations. The charges were later dismissed. The plight of fishermen whose livelihoods are threatened by regulations inspired Joel’s song “The Downeaster ‘Alexa.'”
Then in January 2003, Joel went off the road and crashed his Mercedes into a tree in Sag Harbor. Joel was hospitalized; he was not arrested.
MARTHA STEWART
A landscaper who worked for real estate magnate Harry Macklowe accused TV personality and household entrepreneur Martha Stewart of deliberately crashing her car into him in May 1997 amid a feud between East Hampton neighbors Macklowe and Stewart. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office investigated but decided not to file charges against Stewart. “Not every event that adversely affects someone’s life deserves to be tried in criminal court,” said then-District Attorney James Catterson.
“PR PRINCESS” LIZZIE GRUBMAN
Lizzie Grubman, a so-called publicist to the stars whose clients include Britney Spears and Jay-Z, was asked by a security guard in Southampton on July 7, 2001 to move her Mercedes out of a fire lane. Grubman responded by backing up. into a crowd, injuring 16 people. Grubman was charged with crimes including second-degree assault, driving under the influence and reckless endangerment. She faced a maximum sentence of eight years in prison, but served only thirty-eight days in jail and five years of probation after reaching a plea agreement.
JASON KIDD
Jason Kidd, the basketball Hall of Famer and coach whose Dallas Mavericks lost the NBA finals to the Boston Celtics on Monday, smashed his Cadillac Escalade into a light pole in Southampton in July 2012. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor DWI charge and was placed on probation. In exchange for the guilty plea, Kidd agreed to talk to Long Island high school students about the dangers of drunk driving.
BRIAN FRANCE
Former NASCAR CEO Brian France was arrested in Sag Harbor in August 2018 for drunken driving and criminal possession of oxycodone after police say he drove his Lexus through a stop sign. France pleaded guilty to DWI and was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and undergo alcohol therapy.
