Bruce Springsteen pleads guilty to alcohol consumption in closed area, DWI charge dropped

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday they could not prove drunk and reckless driving charges against Bruce Springsteen, who then pleaded guilty to one more charge against him, consuming alcohol in an enclosed area in New Jersey in November.

“I had two small shots of tequila,’’ the Boss told U.S. Magistrate Judge Anthony R. Mautone, who then assessed $540 in fines and penalties on the rock icon.

Mautone asked Springsteen how much time he needed to pay the fines.

“I think I can pay that immediately,’’ Springsteen said, smiling.

Questioned during a Zoom hearing by his attorney, Mitchell Ansell, Springsteen, dressed in a dark blazer, dark sweater and button-down shirt, said he consumed the shots around 4 p.m. on Nov. 14 by the lighthouse keeper’s property on Sandy Hook in the Gateway National Recreation Area.

He also acknowledged he knew it was illegal to consume alcohol on the federal property, although Mautone pointed out that until two years ago, alcohol consumption was allowed within the confines of the oceanfront park.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Baker cited the results of a breath test Springsteen took at the ranger’s station that day in which his blood-alcohol content was 0.02, well beneath New Jersey’s 0.08 threshold indicating intoxication. He moved to dismiss charges of driving while under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving. 

“The government does not believe it can sustain its burden of proof,’’ Baker said of the two dismissed charges. Mautone agreed. 

“Based on the record, I can’t imagine even the contemplation of a guilty plea,’’ Mautone said. “I can’t imagine that I would be persuaded that the government could sustain its burden of proof. 

Springsteen, 71, was pulled over at 4:12 p.m. on Nov. 14 near the lighthouse on Sandy Hook, in the Gateway National Recreation Area, after traveling there that Saturday afternoon on his red and silver Triumph motorcycle. 

Previously:Bruce Springsteen initially refused a breath test before drunken driving arrest, police say

Sources said he stopped to have a couple of shots with fans, although Springsteen, in pleading guilty, did not elaborate on the circumstances during which he consumed the two shots of tequila.

A statement of probable cause filed by the park ranger who pulled over Springsteen said he saw the Boss take a shot of Patron tequila and then get on his motorcycle and start the engine. The ranger, identified as R.L. Hayes, told the Jersey rock icon that alcohol was banned in the park and asked if he was leaving, the statement said. Springsteen confirmed that he was and then he claimed to have consumed two shots of tequila in the past 20 minutes, the statement said. The Patron bottle that the shot was poured out of was empty, Hayes wrote.

“Springsteen smelt (sic) strongly of alcohol coming off his person and had glassy eyes,’’ Hayes wrote.

Hayes alleged that Springsteen failed a field sobriety test and initially refused a breath test. Baker said Springsteen later took a breath test at the ranger’s station and that the reading was 0.02.

“Springsteen was visibly swaying back and forth while I observed his eyes,’’ Hayes wrote. “I observed five out of eight clues on the walk and turn test. Springsteen took 45 total steps during the walk and turn instead of the instructed 18.’’

Hayes issued violation notices charging Springsteen with driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and consuming alcohol in a closed area.

News of the Boss’ arrest didn’t break until Feb. 10, the date of his first court appearance, which was postponed. That was three days after the Super Bowl, during which a two-minute Jeep ad featuring Springsteen first aired. Jeep pulled the ad from its social media site upon news of Springsteen’s arrest.

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues, unsolved mysteries and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.