Justin Timberlake pleads guilty to impaired driving in New York

SAG HARBOR, N.Y. (AP) — Justin Timberlake urged drivers not to get behind the wheel of a car after even a single alcoholic drink on Friday, shortly after pleading guilty to driving while impaired in New York’s Hamptons earlier this year.

The public safety announcement in front of the Sag Harbor police department was part of the plea deal that knocked down the misdemeanor charge he’d faced to a non-criminal traffic violation.

The boy band singer-turned-solo star and actor was also sentenced to a $500 fine with a $260 surcharge, 25 hours of community service at the nonprofit of his choosing and a 90-day suspension of his license.

“I try to hold myself to a very high standard, for myself, and this was not that,” Timberlake told the news media and other onlookers after the hearing in the adjacent Sag Harbor Village Court.

“Even if you’ve had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car,” he said. “There’s so many alternatives. Call a friend. Take an Uber. There’s many travel apps. Still, 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.”

The NSYNC star made similar comments during the court hearing and said he grew up in a small town and appreciated the kind of strain his arrest has made on a community like Sag Harbor.

The one-time whaling village, which is mentioned in Herman Melville’s classic novel “Moby-Dick,” is nestled amid the Hamptons, an area of seaside communities around 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of New York City.

Timberlake was arrested there a little after midnight on June 18 after police said he ran a stop sign in the village center, veered out of his lane and got out of his BMW smelling of alcohol.

Police said the 43-year-old Tennessee native told the officer he had had one martini and was following some friends home. He originally pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated.

Edward Burke Jr., Timberlake’s attorney, maintained outside the court after Friday’s hearing that his client only had one drink in two hours at the American Hotel before his arrest.

“Contrary to what was reported, he wasn’t drinking other peoples’ drinks, or warned in advance not to drive,” said Burke, adding that the lesser charge Timberlake pleaded to is “consistent with these facts.”

At one point in the hearing, Timberlake promised Judge Irace he wouldn’t “go back” to driving after having a drink again. The judge, who had otherwise been serious in tone, playfully interjected: “But come back to Sag Harbor! It’s a great place.”