|
 The agreement with prosecutors requires the Canadian singer,
who was not in court, to attend a 12-hour anger-management
class, watch online videos about tragic drunken driving cases
and donate $50,000 to a children's charity.
As part of the deal, Bieber pleaded guilty to careless driving,
a civil infraction, and resisting an officer without violence, a
misdemeanor. In return, the state dropped a charge of driving
under the influence.
In approving the plea deal, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge William
Altfield said he hoped Bieber, 20, was aware that his actions
had consequences due to his status as a celebrity and a role
model for young people.
"While this is a case that involved driving under the influence,
he (Bieber) needs to be cognizant of the fact that there are
many young persons who are living under the influence, and he is
the influence," Altfield said.
"Here is someone who is young, his whole life is ahead of him.
He just hopefully will get the message, he will grow up, he will
use all of his talents positively for younger persons," he
added.
Bieber's attorneys said they would deliver the judge's message
to their client. "We'll turn this into a positive experience ...
and we'll make sure this becomes a positive experience for
everyone," said one of his lawyers, Howard Srebnick.
Calling Bieber's actions "rash juvenile-type conduct", State
Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said "the intervention and
counseling parts of the plea should provide a pathway toward
adult responsibility."
[to top of second column] |
Bieber, who frequently makes headlines due to his party-intense
lifestyle, initially was charged with driving under the influence,
resisting arrest and using an expired license after police stopped
and arrested him while he was driving a rented yellow Lamborghini
the morning of Jan. 23.
The singer, whose hit songs include "Boyfriend," was not given any
special treatment by being allowed to plead in absentia, the judge
said.
Police said at the time of Bieber's arrest that two SUVs had blocked
off the road so the singer could race a friend. Bieber cursed at
police officers and later told them he had consumed alcohol,
marijuana and prescription drugs, according to the arrest report.
A drug test found marijuana and prescription anti-anxiety medication
in his system at the time of the arrest, according to a toxicology
report.
(Reporting by Zachary Fagenson; Writing by Colleen Jenkins and David
Adams; Editing by Bill Trott and Jim Loney)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
