Justin Timberlake’s DWI case was “treated like any other of its kind”.
Justin Timberlake’s DWI case was ‘treated like any other of its kind’
The ‘Cry Me a River’ singer, pleaded guilty at a Long Island court on Friday (13.09.24) after he faced a reduced charge of a traffic violation, with the performer taking a plea deal – then issuing an apology in court and urging people not to drink and drive.
But Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney says the pop star did not get special treatment.
He told Page Six the day before Justin was set to appear in court: “He’s charged with driving while intoxicated… (then) there’s a lesser charge as driving while impaired, which happens in a number of cases.
“So we’re going to continue to negotiate the case. So we’ll see. We’ll see how it plays out in court, whether or not we could come to an agreement… we have to see.
“There are certain things that the prosecution wants [and] certain things that the defense wants, and there’s certain things that the court wants.
“So you factor all of those things in. You go to court and see if you could work them out. So we’ll see if we could work it out tomorrow.”
He added about how his office was against VIP treatment for famous faces: “The one thing that we want to make sure we’re doing is… being consistent, and we don’t want to treat any defendant better than others because of, you know, because of any perceived notoriety they may have.
“But we certainly don’t want to treat people worse for the same reason. So we’re taking pains to make sure that we’re treating this case like any other case of its kind.”
Father-of-two Justin, who has kids Silas, nine, and Phineas, four, with his wife Jessica Biel, 42, was arrested in Sag Harbor, New York, in the early hours of 18 June after he failed to stop at a stop sign and could not stay in his lane.
He accepted a reduced level at his Friday hearing of a traffic offense and
pleaded guilty to a charge of impaired driving.
Justin stayed standing throughout the proceedings and gave a statement in which he expressed remorse for his actions.
He said: “I did not live up to the standards that I try to hold for myself.”
The singer added he was “grateful for the opportunity to move forward” and said he wanted to use his platform to help others make “better decisions”.
Justin will have to pay a $500 fine with a $260 surcharge, and serve 25 hours of community service at a non-profit of his choosing.
He then begged people to never drink and drive in a statement given outside court, saying: “Even if you’ve had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car.
“There are so many alternatives. You can call a friend (or) take an Uber.
“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.”
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