Timberlake Pleads Guilty: I Needed 'Better Judgment'

Justin Timberlake wrapped up his DWI case Friday on Long Island, pleading guilty to a lesser charge in keeping with an agreement with prosecutors—after the judge found the original deal too lenient—and expressing contrition afterward outside court. The singer pleaded guilty in Sag Harbor to a noncriminal traffic violation of driving while impaired, NBC News reports. Judge Carl Irace asked the defendant if he would be willing to volunteer at a nonprofit organization that he could choose. "I'd be willing to," Timberlake answered. He must complete 25 to 40 hours of community service within a year, pay a $500 penalty, and record a public service announcement, per the Hollywood Reporter. His driver's license is suspended for 90 days.

Timberlake was pulled over and arrested in June on suspicion of intoxicated driving in the Hamptons. "I should've had better judgment," he told the judge Friday. Speaking to reporters later, the celebrity said he tries to hold himself to a high standard but failed in this instance. "I found myself in a position where I could have made a different decision," Timberlake said, adding, "What I'd like to say to everyone watching and listening, even if you've had one drink, don't get behind the wheel of a car." The original misdemeanor charge, driving while intoxicated, has a maximum sentence of a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. (More Justin Timberlake stories.)