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The California Highway Patrol arrested Britney Spears shortly before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, according to an inmate search on the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office website. Multiple media outlets report that Spears was taken into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI), although the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office did not provide a reason for the arrest.
Spears, 44, was officially booked around 3 a.m. Thursday and released shortly after 6 a.m. as part of a so-called “Cite & Release” – where the accused person is released without bail on a summons. There is no recommendation for probation and her vehicle is now at a tow lot. The singer, whose occupation is listed as “celebrity” in official filings, is due to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on May 4.
Spears’ press representatives and the California Highway Patrol did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ROLLING STONE. Spears’ Instagram page, which has 44 million followers, was unavailable after the arrest.
Incident back in October
The gossip site Page Six reported in October that a video from that time showed Spears allegedly driving dangerously – she was said to be tailgating other drivers. The alleged incident occurred around the release of her ex-husband Kevin Federline’s memoir, You Thought You Knew.
Spears has spent most of her life in the public eye, with interest in the artist increasing significantly when a judge released her from a conservatorship under the supervision of her father, James “Jamie” Spears, after 13 years.
Since then, she has married and separated from Sam Asghari, published her own autobiography, “The Woman in Me,” and released two singles: “Hold Me Closer” with Elton John and “Mind Your Business” with will.i.am. As ROLLING STONE reported last month, Spears has sold her music catalog and other rights to Primary Wave.
