Britney Spears was charged Thursday in California with driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, authorities said.
Britney Spears charged with DUI in California
The 44-year-old pop star was charged with a single count of driving under the influence of alcohol and at least one drug, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said.
A rep for Spears had no immediate comment.
The criminal complaint does not specify what alcohol or drugs or how much Spears is accused of using.
Spears, who had since entered substance abuse treatment, was arrested on March 4 after she was pulled over for driving her black BMW fast and erratically on US 101 near her home, the California Highway Patrol said. She appeared to be impaired, underwent a series of field sobriety tests, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and was taken to the Ventura County Jail, the CHP said.
She was released on bail the following day. The police closed the investigation and presented it to prosecutors on March 23.
A rep at the time called Spears’ actions “completely inexcusable” and said that ideally, it would be “the first step in the long overdue change that needs to happen in Britney’s life.”
Spears volunteered for substance abuse treatment facility just over a month after the arrest, her rep said.
Spears’ arraignment is scheduled for Monday. Because the charge is a misdemeanor, she will not be required to appear in court, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the case would be handled in accordance with their standard protocol for defendants with no history of DUI, no accidents or injuries on the road and a low blood alcohol level.
In court Monday, Spears will be offered what is commonly known as a “wet recklessness,” which allows the defendant to plead guilty and receive a year of probation, credit for any time served in jail, a required DUI class and state-mandated fines and fees, prosecutors said.
The offer is especially common for defendants who have independently demonstrated motivation to solve their problems and seek treatment, the district attorney’s office said.
The singer has a home in Ventura County, just across the border from Los Angeles. Her arraignment will be held in the city of Ventura, a seaside community of about 110,000 people about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of downtown LA.
The one-time teenage pop phenomenon and “Mickey Mouse Club” alum became the defining superstar of the 1990s and 2000s with hits like “Toxic,” “Gimme More” and “I’m a Slave 4 U.” Most of Spears’ albums have been certified platinum, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, with two diamond titles: 1999’s “… Baby One More Time” and 2000’s “Oops! … I Did It Again.”
Spears became the focus of tabloid attention and a source of public scrutiny in the early 2000s as she struggled with mental illness and was documented by paparazzi details of her private life.
In 2008, Spears was placed under a court-ordered receivership, managed primarily by her father and his lawyers, to control her personal and financial decisions for more than a decade. It was disbanded in 2021.
Since then, she has married and divorced and published bestsellers, eloquent memoirs, “The woman in me.”
She’s been essentially in artistic retirement in recent years, releasing only a handful of singles together since her last full-length album in 2016.
