CNN
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Justin Timberlake pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of drunk driving in a deal with Suffolk County, New York, prosecutors on Friday in connection with an incident earlier this year.
Sag Harbor Village Judge Carl Eileis ordered Timberlake to perform 25 hours of community service and ordered the pop star to make a public safety announcement. He also ordered him to pay a $500 fine and have his New York driver’s license suspended for 90 days, effective Friday.
The defense and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office agreed to the sentence after Judge Eileis expressed disappointment in the proposed plea agreement, calling it a “lack of retribution,” and said the original deal was “surprisingly favorable” to Timberlake.
The judge ordered Timberlake to perform community service, which he can do at a non-profit organization of his choice and must complete within a year.
When the judge asked Timberlake if he was willing to accept these terms, he replied, “I’m happy to accept them.”
Timberlake entered the courthouse just after 11 a.m. wearing a black shirt, brown trousers and a pearl necklace and surrounded by security guards and lawyers.
After the hearing, the pop star released a statement outside court, saying, “I try to hold myself to very high standards, but this was not that. This was not that.”
“I was in a position where I could have made a different decision, but I had time to think about it,” he continued, before adding, “I just want to say to everyone watching, even if you’ve had one drink, you should never get behind the wheel of a car. Call a friend, use Uber, there are plenty of travel apps, take a taxi, there are plenty of alternatives. It’s a mistake that I made, but I hope that everyone watching and listening right now can learn from it. I certainly am learning.”
At his final court hearing in August, Timberlake pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor DUI charge, which he could have faced up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine if convicted.
According to the New York State Department of Transportation, in New York state, a blood alcohol content above 0.05 is “legal evidence of intoxication” and “0.08 or above is evidence of intoxication.”
Timberlake was arrested in Sag Harbor in June. Police said he left the bar at The American Hotel shortly after midnight, drove a 2025 BMW down Main Street, failed to stop at a stop sign and drifted out of his lane. Police also said Timberlake failed field sobriety tests and repeatedly refused to take a breathalyzer test, stating, “No, I’m not going to take a chemical test.”
Timberlake’s lawyer, Ed Burke, said outside court Friday that his client had one drink in two hours.
“Contrary to what has been reported, he did not drink someone else’s drink or give any prior warning not to drive. He was not rude, unpleasant or belligerent,” Burke said before Timberlake released the PSA. “He was polite, cooperative and treated police with the same respect throughout his encounter, just as the police treated him.”
Timberlake has been performing on his Forget Tomorrow Tour over the summer, with his next stop in New Jersey on September 28th.