DUI charge against Bruce Springsteen withdrawn
New Jersey federal prosecutors dropped drunken driving and reckless driving charges against Bruce Springsteen on Wednesday stemming from an incident in November, admitting the rocker’s blood alcohol level was so low it didn’t warrant the charges.
Springsteen pleaded guilty to a third charge, consuming alcohol in a closed area, the Gateway National Recreation Area. Better known as Sandy Hook, it is an Atlantic Ocean peninsula with views of the New York City skyline.
Facing a judge and more than 100 onlookers in a video conference, Springsteen sat next to lawyer Mitchell Ansell and admitted he was aware it was illegal to consume alcohol at the park.
“I had two small shots of tequila,” Springsteen said in response to questions from an assistant U.S. attorney. The case was heard in federal court because the park is considered federal land.
U.S. Magistrate Anthony Mautone fined Springsteen $500 for the offense, plus $40 in court fees.
“I think I can pay that immediately, your honor,” Springsteen told Judge Mautone.
In an emailed statement, Ansell wrote that Springsteen “is pleased
with the outcome” of the court hearing.
According to a probable cause document written by park police at the time of the incident, Springsteen told a park officer he had done two shots in the previous 20 minutes but wouldn’t take a preliminary breath test before he was arrested. Judge Mautone said Wednesday that the preliminary test is not required and is not admissible in court.
When he took a breath test at the park’s ranger station, Springsteen’s blood alcohol content came back .02%, a quarter of the legal limit in New Jersey, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The officer wrote that he saw Springsteen take a shot of tequila and then get on his motorcycle. The officer wrote that the rocker “smelt strongly of alcohol” Nov. 14 and “had glassy eyes” and that there was a bottle of Patron tequila that was “completely empty.”
The report described
Springsteen as “visibly swaying back and forth” during a field sobriety test and said he declined to provide a sample on an initial breath test.
After news of the arrest, Jeep put on pause an ad that ran during the Super Bowl featuring Springsteen in Kansas urging people to find
common ground. In a statement, Jeep said it would pause the commercial “until the actual facts can be established.”
Springsteen performed Jan. 20 as part of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, singing “Land of Hope and Dreams” in front of the Lincoln Memorial.