SAG HARBOR, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� 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 .
The public safety announcement in front of the Sag Harbor police department was part of that knocked down the misdemeanor charge he鈥檇 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.
鈥淚 try to hold myself to a very high standard, for myself, and this was not that,鈥� Timberlake told the news media and other onlookers after the hearing in the adjacent Sag Harbor Village Court.
鈥淓ven if you鈥檝e had one drink, don鈥檛 get behind the wheel of a car,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so many alternatives. Call a friend. Take an Uber. There鈥檚 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.鈥�
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鈥檚 classic novel 鈥淢oby-Dick,鈥� is nestled amid the Hamptons, an area of seaside communities around 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of New York City.
Timberlake 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 to a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated.
Timberlake told the court he鈥檚 had a lot of time to reflect on his actions and was 鈥済rateful for the opportunity to move forward鈥� and use his platform to hopefully help others make 鈥渂etter decisions.鈥�
鈥淚 should have had better judgment,鈥� he said to the judge. 鈥淚 understand the seriousness of this.鈥�
Judge Carl Irace said he did not oppose reducing the charge Timberlake faced since he was a first time offender and thanked him for speaking sincerely and 鈥渇rom the heart.鈥� But he questioned the appropriateness of the proposed sentence, dismissing the public announcement Timberlake intended to make shortly after the court proceedings as 鈥渦nsatisfactory.鈥�
Irace said imposing an additional requirement of community service would give the singer more time to reflect on his actions.
鈥淢y experience is that these conditions can prove helpful and even gratifying for the accused,鈥� he said.
Prosecutor Patrick O鈥機onnell told the judge they had weighed recommending community service, but thought a statement from Timberlake would be a more valuable public service because of its potential to influence a younger generation worldwide.
He also said Timberlake鈥檚 remarks would hopefully show that 鈥渘o one is above the law,鈥� not even the wealthy and famous.
鈥淢r. Timberlake received the same treatment as any other defendant,鈥� Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney added in a statement after the hearing. 鈥淛ustice should be applied equally to all individuals, regardless of their wealth or celebrity status.鈥�
Among those in the courtroom Friday was a local mother whose by a drunk driver in 2018.
Alisa McMorris, who now runs a foundation in her son Andrew鈥檚 memory, said she hoped Timberlake鈥檚 remarks would help bring more awareness to the dangers of driving under the influence.
鈥淛ustin has such a huge platform to the next generation. People listen to him,鈥� she said alongside her daughter after the singer had departed. 鈥淔ive words I tell the kids when I go to the high schools is 鈥楬ow are we getting home?鈥� and he spoke about that. Make a plan. I don鈥檛 want another sister or a family to have to go through what we did.鈥�
Edward Burke Jr., Timberlake鈥檚 attorney, maintained outside the court after Friday鈥檚 hearing that his client only had one drink in two hours at the American Hotel before his arrest.
鈥淐ontrary to what was reported, he wasn鈥檛 drinking other peoples鈥� drinks, or warned in advance not to drive,鈥� said Burke, adding that the lesser charge Timberlake pleaded to is 鈥渃onsistent with these facts.鈥�
At one point in the hearing, Timberlake promised Judge Irace he wouldn鈥檛 鈥済o back鈥� 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鈥檚 a great place.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, sa国际传媒icut, contributed to this report.
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Philip Marcelo, The Associated Press
