Justin Timberlake is expected to plead guilty to a traffic violation, and his Long Island DWI charge dropped as part of a plea agreement, according to multiple reports Wednesday.
While details of the plea deal were not disclosed by officials, sources told TMZ Timberlake will admit to driving while ability impaired. Despite the name, the charge carries notably lighter penalties than DWI, and Timberlake will likely be fined $300 to $500.
The exact fine will be determined by a judge on Friday in Suffolk County, where Timberlake is expected to enter his plea in person at Sag Harbor Village Court. He had previously pleaded not guilty in the case.
The former NSYNC star, 43, was arrested in the early morning hours of June 18 in Sag Harbor and charged with driving while intoxicated, which carries up to a one-year jail sentence.
At the scene, Timberlake refused to take a breathalyzer test. He claimed he only had one martini before getting behind the wheel, but cops said he failed multiple field sobriety tests.
Because Timberlake refused to take the breathalyzer, his license was automatically suspended for one year in New York under state law.
A bartender also told police he only served Timberlake one drink, and his attorney claimed he “was not intoxicated” when he was pulled over.
Cops said Timberlake blew through a stop sign and swerved out of his lane on Madison St., just blocks away from the American Hotel, where he had reportedly been partying with pals.
“His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” police said in a court filing.
Sag Harbor Police Department
Justin Timberlake’s mugshot. (Courtesy of the Sag Harbor Police Department)
Timberlake was released within hours of his arrest and continued to perform on his Forget Tomorrow World Tour, despite reportedly telling the arresting officer that his detainment would “ruin the tour.”
He has not appeared at court in person.
At a hearing in late July, Timberlake’s attorney, Edward Burke, argued his client should not have been arrested.
“The facts remain, he was not intoxicated,” Burke said, adding that “police made a number of very significant errors in this case.”
“We’re very confident that the criminal charge will be dismissed,” he said.
The case appeared to be in jeopardy at a subsequent Aug. 9 hearing, where Sag Harbor Village Justice Carl Irace chastised prosecutors for being “unprepared,” apparently due to a lack of discovery materials.
Prosecutors did not comment on the reported plea deal.
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