NEW YORK– NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Timberlake will enter a new plea Friday in his drunken driving case in New York’s Hamptons, prosecutors said. Details of the plea were not disclosed, but a person with knowledge of the deal said Timberlake has agreed to plead guilty to a lesser offense than the original drunken driving charge.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Timberlake’s attorney, Edward Burke, declined to comment.
The pop singer will appear in person in Sag Harbor Village Court on Friday to enter a plea, the office of Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney confirmed Wednesday.
Timberlake was arrested on June 18 in the village of Sag Harbor, on the east side of Long Island, after police said he ran a stop sign in the village center, veered from his lane and got out of his BMW that smelled of alcohol. The 43-year-old Tennessee resident pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence.
During a hearing last month, a judge suspended Timberlake’s right to drive in New York.
His attorney, Burke, has maintained that Timberlake was not drunk and that the case should be dismissed.
According to police, Timberlake was arrested around 12:30 a.m. after leaving a hotel in Sag Harbor.
“His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, there was a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath, he was unable to pay attention, his speech was slower, his gait was unsteady, and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” police said. . said in a police report.
According to police, Timberlake told the officer he had one martini and was following some friends home. He was arrested and spent the night in custody at a police station.
The boy band singer turned solo star and actor’s agent and other representatives did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on Wednesday.
A 10-time Grammy winner, Timberlake began performing as a young Disney Mouseketeer, rose to fame as part of the boy band NSYNC and embarked on a solo recording career in the early 2000s.
Sag Harbor is a former whaling village mentioned in Herman Melville’s classic novel ‘Moby-Dick’ and located in the middle of the Hamptons, about 100 miles east of New York City.
