Police reportedly let Justin Timberlake’s drinking buddy drive the singer’s car home after he was arrested on DWI charges in the Hamptons last month.
The “SexyBack” singer’s friends intervened after he was pulled over on June 18 for running a stop sign and swerving into the wrong lane following a night out at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, NY, sources told TMZ Monday.
Timberlake, 43, reportedly had been following a woman and her husband home when he was busted.
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The outlet reported that the unidentified woman got out of her car and went up to one of the police officers to ask, “Are you going to arrest Justin Timberlake?”
Sources said the woman then suggested she could drive Timberlake to her and her husband’s house, where the pop star was planning on staying the night.
However, law enforcement clearly did not take her up on the offer, as Timberlake was arrested and taken to the Sag Harbor police station after failing a field sobriety test and repeatedly refusing to take a Breathalyzer test.
The sources told TMZ that cops ultimately allowed the woman to drive Timberlake’s rental car back to her home — even though she allegedly arrived at the posh hotel bar and started drinking two hours before the “Friends with Benefits” actor joined her.
After receiving this information, Timberlake’s lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., reportedly plans to argue in court that the police officers failed to recognize that the woman had been intoxicated and therefore could not have properly evaluated the Grammy winner either.
Pvnew has reached out to the Sag Harbor Police Department, Burke and Timberlake’s rep for comment on the report.
Timberlake has been charged with one count of driving while intoxicated and cited for two traffic violations after drinking at the American Hotel, where he allegedly was seen downing another patron’s cocktail.
His wife, Jessica Biel, was not with him at the time, as she was busy filming an upcoming Prime Video series in New York City.
A criminal complaint previously obtained by Pvnew stated that Timberlake claimed to have consumed only “one martini” before getting behind the wheel to follow his friends home. The American Hotel’s bartender backed up his one-drink claim. However, police said Timberlake smelled like alcohol, and his eyes were visibly bloodshot in his mugshot.
Timberlake’s lawyer asserted during a hearing last Friday that the “Mirrors” singer was “not intoxicated” at the time of his arrest, further claiming that the cops “made a number of very significant errors” in the case.
Burke also said he is “confident that this [DWI] charge will be dismissed.”
The *NSYNC alum, who is in the midst of a world tour, is due in court for his arraignment on Aug. 2 but is expected to attend the hearing virtually.
