FILE - Britney Spears arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," on July 22, 2019. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Britney Spears was charged in California on Thursday (April 30) with driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, authorities said.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office charged Britney Spears with a single misdemeanor count of driving under the combined influence of alcohol and at least one drug. However, the criminal complaint does not specify what kind of alcohol or drugs, or what amount, Spears allegedly used.
Police arrested Britney Spears on March 4. She was pulled over for driving her black BMW fast and erratically on U.S. 101 near her home, per the California Highway Patrol. She appeared to be impaired and took a series of field sobriety tests. Following Britney Spears’ arrest, law enforcement took her to a Ventura County jail.
Britney Spears was released on bail the following day on March 5. Police completed their investigation and presented it to prosecutors on March 23. A representative at the time called Spears’ actions “completely inexcusable.” Also, the rep said it would ideally be “the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life.”
Spears voluntarily checked into a substance abuse treatment facility just over a month after the arrest.However, a representative for the 44-year-old pop star had no immediate comment on the latest udpate, per the Associated Press.
Britney Spears’ arraignment is set for Monday (May 4). Because it is a misdemeanor charge, she will not be required to appear in court, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the case will be handled according to their standard protocol for defendants with no DUI history, no crash or injury on the road and a low blood-alcohol level.
In court on Monday, prosecutors plan to offer Spears a “wet reckless,” which allows a defendant to plead guilty and get a year of probation, credit for any time served in jail, a required DUI class and state-mandated fines and fees.The offer is common, especially for defendants who have independently shown motivation to address their problems and seek treatment, the district attorney’s office said.
The singer has a home in Ventura County just outside the Los Angeles County line. Her arraignment will take place in the city of Ventura, a seaside community of about 110,000 people about 70 miles northwest of downtown LA.
In 2008, a court placed Britney Spears under a conservatorship, run primarily by her father and his lawyers. That conservatorship would control her personal and financial decisions for well over a decade. Finally, in 2021, it was dissolved.
Since then, Spears has married and divorced. Also, she’s released a bestselling, tell-all memoir, ‘The Woman in Me.’ However, in music, she has essentially been retired in recent years. Her last full album dropped in 2016, but she released a few collaborative singles since then, including, ‘Hold Me Closer’ and ‘Matches.’
AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
