Justin Bieber’s criminal defense attorney, Roy Black, has confirmed prosecutors have not offered a plea deal to the pop superstar in his Miami DUI case.
TMZ previously reported a plea deal had been offered and rejected by Bieber’s legal team who supposedly balked over random drug testing requirements.
However, that rumor was revealed as incorrect at a Tuesday status hearing before Judge William Altfield, when Miami-Dade prosecutor Daniel Diaz-Balart told the judge that no plea deal has been offered to the Canadian singer, Miami Herald reports.
The clarification echoes a CNN report of two weeks ago in which Ed Griffith, spokesman for the Miami-Dade state attorneys office, told the outlet, “It’s way too early to offer a plea deal, if one was to be offered.”
Black’s team, heading into a trial which was set for May 5 at the hearing, spoke to Radar Online Wednesday,
“The state has not offered any plea deal. The judge asked in court yesterday if an offer had been extended and the prosecutor said no. All I can say is that the case is set for trial and we are preparing for it.”
Showing some of the humor he often seems to belie in photographs and on-screen, Black said Bieber would be at the trial, “But I can’t promise Selena Gomez will be there.”
Bieber was arrested on suspicion of DUI, along with pal Khalil Amir Sharieff, after they were stopped by Miami Beach police shortly after 4 am on January 23 for allegedly drag racing, according to the police report.
At the time, the “ Heartbreaker ” singer was behind the wheel of a rented yellow Lamborghini, Sharieff drove a red Ferrari.
While two Breathalyzer tests at Miami Beach police station revealed Bieber’s blood alcohol concentration was below Florida’s 0.02 legal limit for drivers under 21, a toxicology report revealed the active ingredient of marijuana and anti-anxiety drug Xanax drug were present in the singer’s system at the time of his arrest.
Justin pleaded not guilty to charges of driving under the influence, resisting arrest without violence and driving with an expired license in January through a lawyer.
Back in February, attorney Michael Salnick – who is not connected to Bieber’s DUI case – told CNN that first-time offenders “rarely go to jail if convicted of drunken driving in Florida.”
(Photo: Still Believe Movie/Open Road)
With an acquittal looking remote, it’s far more likely Justin will be ordered to attend the DUI diversion program which is available to all first-time offenders.
It includes random drug testing for between six to nine months, around $1,000 in fines and fees, completion of 40 hours of community service, an alcohol education class, and a three-hour victim impact session where 11 experiences are shared by relatives and a quiz is taken by the defendant in which a score of 100 percent is mandatory.
However, any violation of probation – such as failing a drug test – could result in jail time.
While Bieber has taken on heat from critics — including celebrities such as Seth Rogen , Sharon Osbourne, Judge Judy Sheindlin, Jared Padalecki and Ice Cube – UFC President Dana White recently expressed qualified support for the young star.
While not condoning Bieber’s recent legal troubles, White told reporters ahead of Saturday’s UFC on FOX 10,
“Imagine if you had a zillion dollars when you were 19, I’d be dead already,” he said, noting his own wild youth in Boston.
“It’s got to be hard to keep it together, especially if you don’t have the right people around you too.”
White added , “It seems like [affects mock-whiny voice], you look at it and say, ‘poor Bieber he’s got a zillion dollars and all the chicks in the world want him and he’s got all this stuff.’ But there’s a lot of headaches that go along with that.”