Justin Timberlake reaches plea deal to resolve drunk driving case, sources say
Justin Timberlake has reached a deal to resolve his drunk driving case and is expected to enter a new plea, according to sources.
The ‘Cry Me a River’ and ‘What Goes Around Comes Around’ singer is expected to appear in court on Friday in New York’s Hamptons.
Details of the plea weren't disclosed, but a person close to the case told the Associated Press Timberlake has agreed to plead guilty to a less serious offence than the original charge of driving while intoxicated.
Timberlake's attorney, Edward Burke, declined to comment.
The pop singer and actor was arrested in the village of Sag Harbor, on the eastern end of Long Island, on June 18 after police said he ran a stop sign in the village centre, veered out of his lane and got out of his BMW smelling of alcohol.
The 43-year-old Tennessee native pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanour drunken driving charge.
At a hearing last month, a judge suspended Timberlake's right to drive in New York.
Timberlake is due to appear in person at Sag Harbor Village Court to enter his plea, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney's office confirmed on Wednesday.
His lawyer, Burke, has maintained that he was not drunk and that the case should be dropped.
Timberlake was pulled over after leaving a Sag Harbor hotel around 12.30am, according to police.
"His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odour 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 standardised field sobriety tests," police said in a court filing.
Timberlake told the officer he had drunk one martini and was following some friends home, according to police.
He was arrested and spent the night in custody at a police station.
A 10-time Grammy winner, Timberlake began performing as a young Disney Mouseketeer, rose to fame as part of the boy band NSYNC and embarked on a solo recording career in the early 2000s.
Sag Harbor is a one-time whaling village mentioned in Herman Melville's classic novel "Moby-Dick" that's nestled amid the Hamptons, around 100 miles east of New York City.
The singer’s agent and other representatives didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment on Wednesday.