Justin Timberlake on Sept. 13 appeared in court in New York and pleaded guilty to driving while impaired.
Timberlake, 43, who had previously pleaded not guilty in the case, then received a sentence that included no time in prison.
The famous singer and actor appeared in Sag Harbor Village Court on Friday and admitted to driving in the early hours of June 18 on Long Island after drinking.
Village Justice Carl Irace sentenced Timberlake to a $500 fine with a $260 surcharge and 25 hours of community service at the nonprofit of his choosing and required him to make a public safety announcement. The sentence was for impaired driving, a lesser charge than the original charge of driving while intoxicated.
Timberlake stood throughout the proceedings and told the court he was remorseful for what transpired. He said he grew up in a small town and appreciated the kind of strain his arrest has made on Sag Harbor. He said he has had a lot of time to reflect on his actions.
“I did not live up to the standards that I try to hold for myself,” he said.
Timberlake said he is “grateful for the opportunity to move forward” and use his platform to hopefully help others make “better decisions.”
“I should’ve had better judgment,” he said to the judge. “I understand the seriousness of this.”
Irace said he was disappointed with the proposed plea deal offered by prosecutors, expressing concern that it did not give Timberlake proper time for him to reflect on his actions for that reason. That prompted the addition of community service to the final sentence.
Prosecutor Patrick O’Connell told the judge that Timberlake’s giving a public service announcement hopefully would show that no one is above the law and even celebrities can be treated like everyone else. He said prosecutors also weighed recommending community service but thought the announcement would be a valuable service in itself because of its potential effect on young people.
Timberlake was arrested shortly after midnight on June 18 in Sag Harbor, which sits about 100 miles northeast of New York City.
“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 one court filing.
Timberlake told officers he had a single drink.
“Even if you’ve had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car,” Timberlake told a press conference after pleading guilty. “There’s so many alternatives. Call a friend. Take an Uber. There’s many travel apps. Take a taxi. This is a mistake that I made, but I’m hoping that whoever is watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake. I know that I certainly have.”
At the previous hearing, Timberlake, appearing virtually, pleaded not guilty as Irace suspended his driver’s license.
Attorney Edward Burke Jr. told reporters in July that his client was not intoxicated when stopped and that he expected the charge to be dropped. He alleged that police “made a number of very significant errors in this case.”
Burke told the press conference on Friday that his client was not driving while intoxicated.
“The evidence revealed that my client finished the contents of one drink in two hours at The American Hotel,” Burke said. “And contrary to what was reported, he wasn’t drinking other people’s drinks or warned in advance not to drive. He wasn’t rude, he wasn’t obnoxious, he wasn’t belligerent. In fact, he was polite and he was cooperative and he was respectful during his entire encounter with law enforcement, as they were to him. His plea today, to the reduced and amended non-criminal charge, this traffic violation is consistent with these facts and full acceptance of responsibility for them.”
Timberlake rose to fame as part of the boy band NSYNC. He later started headlining his own musical act as well as acting in movies and television shows such as “Alpha Dog” and “Friends With Benefits.”
