Fri. Nov 22nd, 2024
Occasional Digest - a story for you

Justin Timberlake’s summertime arrest in the Hamptons is the DUI case that keeps giving — or rather, taking away.

The Tennessee-licensed singer’s driving privileges were taken away in New York by a judge who re-arraigned him on a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated, stemming from an early-morning arrest in June.

A paperwork oversight — the original charging document apparently lacked a police sergeant’s signature — sparked the unusual repeat arraignment. Timberlake appeared in court in person for the first one, which was held the same day he was arrested.

Sag Harbor Village Justice Carl Irace accepted another not-guilty plea Friday from the 43-year-old entertainer, who appeared virtually because he’s on tour (you know, the world tour). The singer plays in Antwerp, Belgium, on Saturday and Sunday before heading to the United Kingdom.

Irace also threatened to take Timberlake attorney Edward Burke Jr.’s ability to speak publicly about the case by raising the specter of a gag order, saying some of Burke’s comments to the media have been inappropriate. The attorney told reporters outside court last week that “Justin Timberlake was not intoxicated” when he was arrested and jailed in July. Burke has also maintained that “very significant errors” had been made by the police.

Timberlake told the arresting officer that he had one martini and was following some friends home from a Sag Harbor hotel when he was pulled over in a gray 2025 BMW utility vehicle around 12:30 a.m. June 18, according to court documents reviewed by The Times.

“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. Timberlake failed to stop at a stop sign and struggled to stay in his lane, police said in a June statement.

The next hearing on the misdemeanor charge is set for Aug. 9. Representatives for Timberlake did not respond immediately Friday to The Times’ request for comment.

Times staff writer Nardine Saad and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source link