2000s singer Britney Spears was taken into custody in Ventura County, California, after law enforcement pulled her over for allegedly driving under the influence. The pop icon was reportedly alone when California Highway Patrol officers stopped her in Westlake Village, near her Los Angeles-area home.
Following the traffic stop, the “Toxic” singer was handcuffed and booked by the county sheriff’s office in the early hours of the following day. She was released shortly after 6 a.m., according to official inmate records.
Authorities transported Spears to a nearby hospital to perform a blood test. Multiple sources close to the singer confirmed the visit was solely for determining blood alcohol levels; she did not sustain any injuries during the incident.
The arrest arrives shortly after she secured a permanent restraining order against a Louisiana man who allegedly showed up uninvited at her residence and shared alarming social media posts.
This is not the singer’s first encounter with the law. In 2007, she faced misdemeanor charges in Los Angeles for an alleged hit-and-run involving a parked car. The charges were eventually dropped after Spears compensated the vehicle owner, and a mistrial was declared in a separate case involving driving without a valid license.
Spears’s legal troubles in the mid-2000s coincided with a highly publicized loss of custody over her two sons with Kevin Federline, amid concerns over substance use and personal well-being.