Britney Spears was charged in California with driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, authorities said. The 44-year-old pop star was on Thursday charged with a single misdemeanour count of driving under the combined influence of alcohol and at least one drug, the Ventura County District Attorney`s Office said.
Britney Spears charged with DUI
A Spears representative had no immediate comment. The criminal complaint does not specify what kind of alcohol or drugs, or what amount, Spears is accused of having used.
On March 5, California Highway Patrol officers received a report that a BMW was driving fast and erratically on US 101 in Ventura County near the Los Angeles County line, the CHP said.
Spears, who lives in the area, took a series of field sobriety tests and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs, authorities said. She was taken to a county jail and released several hours later.
Police completed their investigation and presented it to prosecutors on March 23.
A representative at the time called Spears` actions “completely inexcusable” and 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, her representative said.
In court on Monday, Spears will be offered what is commonly known as a “wet reckless,” allowing a 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 singer has a home in Ventura County just outside the Los Angeles County line. 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.
More about Britney Spears
The onetime teen pop phenomenon and Mickey Mouse Club alum became a 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. Spears became a tabloid focus in the early 2000s and a subject of public scrutiny as she battled mental illness and paparazzi documented the details of her private life.
In 2008, Spears was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship, run primarily by her father and his lawyers, that controlled her personal and financial decisions for well over a decade. It was dissolved in 2021.
(With inputs from AP)
