- The Washington Times - Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Someone in the Hamptons tipped off local police that pop star Justin Timberlake had been drinking alcohol before driving, according to new media reports.

Mr. Timberlake, 43, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated on June 18 after spending time at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, New York, part of the Hamptons. The 10-time Grammy winner was charged with a driving-while-intoxicated misdemeanor and released later that day without bond.

He told police that he had only one martini at the hotel bar, a claim that an unnamed bartender at the hotel corroborated to People magazine. A second hotel employee told the magazine that “If he was drinking more, it wasn’t here.”

Now, the owner of an eatery in Southampton, New York, claims that someone tipped off the police that Mr. Timberlake was tipsy.

The tipster “said Justin was having a lot of drinks, and they told the cop to watch him if he is going to drive,” the unnamed local restaurateur told the New York Post.

Court papers said that Mr. Timberlake’s “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,” according to The Associated Press.

Young cop Michael Arkinson, who stopped Mr. Timberlake in his BMW first for a warning and a second time for the arrest, did not know who the former NSYNC pop singer was, other locals said.

“He’s diligent, he does a good job. He just didn’t know who Justin Timberlake was! That’s all, pretty simple,” Mark Zucchero, who owns Flying Point Surf and Sport in Southampton, told the Post.

On Friday, Mr. Timberlake told a crowd in Chicago, “It’s been a tough week, but you’re here and I’m here, and nothing can change this moment right now,” according to USA Today.

Mr. Timberlake’s next court date is scheduled for July 26, the Suffolk County district attorney’s office said, according to AP.

His lawyer Edward Burke Jr. said in a statement last week, “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 [Suffolk County] District Attorney’s office,”  NBC News reported.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.

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