Justin Timberlake claimed he had just “one martini” before he was pulled over, failed field sobriety tests and was arrested on suspicion of intoxicated driving early on Tuesday in the affluent Hamptons area of Long Island, police said.
The pop superstar — identified as a 43-year-old Franklin, Tennessee, resident in the criminal complaint — was arraigned and released without having to post bail about nine hours after his arrest, police said.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Justin Timberlake bailed on drink-driving charge.
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Timberlake pleaded not guilty and was ordered to appear in court on July 26, officials said.
His attorney, Edward Burke Jr, said in a statement to NBC News on Wednesday: “I look forward to vigorously defending Mr Timberlake on these allegations. I will have a lot to say at the appropriate time but am currently awaiting full discovery from the District Attorney’s office.”
Timberlake was behind the wheel of a grey Florida-registered BMW when he was stopped a little after 12.15am near Madison St and Middle Line Hwy, initially for driving through a stop sign and failing to stay on the right side of the road, according to the criminal complaint.
But once police spoke to Timberlake, they said it was clear the motorist was not in shape to drive, according to the complaint written by Sag Harbor Village police officer Michael Arkinson.
It was “ascertained that the defendant was operating said vehicle in an intoxicated condition in that 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,” Arkinson wrote.
Timberlake struggled to walk heel-to-toe and stand on one foot without swaying or using arms to balance, the report said.
The officer quoted Timberlake as saying: “I had one martini and I followed my friends home.”
He also declined to be tested for impairment, allegedly telling police, “No, I’m not doing a chemical test.”
“A refusal can be introduced at trial to establish conscious evidence of guilt,” NBC News legal analyst Danny Cevallos said. “It is the predicate for a revocation of driving privileges.”
Timberlake had dined at The American Hotel in the Hamptons community of Sag Harbor “and then headed to a friend’s house when he was pulled over by police,” a source close to the musician said.
Timberlake is set to play in Chicago on Friday and Saturday before playing Madison Square Garden in New York City next week on Tuesday and Wednesday.
His The Forget Tomorrow World Tour had been in Miami on Saturday and Tampa on Friday.
Just a day before his arrest, Timberlake’s wife, actor Jessica Biel, gushed about “the rock” of their family, pledging to keep her husband “eternally grounded and warm”.
Biel’s loving words stand in stark contrast to the backlash Timberlake has faced from fans of former girlfriend Britney Spears.
Timberlake, who rose to fame in the pop group NSYNC, was not portrayed flatteringly in Spears’ memoir from last year, The Woman in Me. The pair, who first met as kids on the set of The Mickey Mouse Club, dated from 1999 to 2002.
Spears wrote that she had an abortion after getting pregnant by Timberlake and accused him of cheating on her “a couple of times”.
In January, Spears apologised on social media for offending anyone with her memoir and complimented Timberlake on his latest single.
Days later at a show in New York City, Timberlake kicked off another round of online criticism by saying he’d “like to take this opportunity to apologise — to absolutely f****** nobody.”
