Justin Timberlake is expected to take a plea deal following his New York DWI (driving while intoxicated) arrest in June, avoiding a DWI misdemeanor, which carries time behind bars.
The 43-year-old pop singer’s 2024 tour is expected to continue following reports that Timberlake will submit a guilty plea at his court date on Friday for a lesser charge after he initially pled not guilty to the DWI charge, the Associated Press reported.
The original DWI charge carried a maximum of a year behind bars plus a $2,500 fine. If he takes the plea deal, he will only have to pay a fine between $300 and $500, TMZ reported.
It comes after surveillance footage from the night of the arrest in June shows Timberlake’s 2025 BMW driving down a deserted street near the American Hotel in Sag Harbor in the Hamptons.
The arrest report says Timberlake was stopped after a police officer noticed him ignoring a stop sign and “fail[ing] to keep on the right side of the roadway,” People noted.
Justin Timberlake snags plea deal in DWI case, will dodge drunk driving charges https://t.co/eyxNHL6tP5 pic.twitter.com/atkTPWve1h
— New York Post (@nypost) September 11, 2024
The officer reported that Timberlake’s “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.”
The report also noted that Timberlake said, “I had one martini and I followed my friends home.”
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The “Cry Me a River” singer was charged with one count of driving while intoxicated and was given citations for running a stop sign and failure to keep in lane.
In August, Timberlake appeared in court virtually where he pleaded not guilty for a second time to the charge in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court, NBC News noted.
During the hearing, Justice Carl Irace announced that the pop star’s out-of-state New York license would be suspended because Timberlake refused to take a breathalyzer test on June 18 when he was pulled over, the outlet noted.
The judge also blasted the singer’s attorney, Edward Burke, for his “irresponsible” comments, claiming that it “comes off as an attempt to poison the case before it even begins,” NBC News noted.
Justice Irace even threatened Burke with a gag order if he continued to make such comments. However, the judge never shared exactly what those comments were, the outlet noted.
The hearing took place after Burke claimed the case would be dismissed, alleging the police screwed up when they arrested Timberlake, as previously reported. At the time, Burke told the court that his client was “not intoxicated” when he was arrested.
“The police made a number of very significant errors in this case,” Burke said in his statement. “Justin respects law enforcement and the very important job that they do. He cooperated with the police officers at all times and treated them with the respect they deserve.”
Timberlake’s next concert is scheduled for September 28 in Newark, New Jersey.
Related: Justin Timberlake’s License Suspended After DWI Arrest, Judge Threatens His Attorney With Gag Order
