“The Mentalist” star Simon Baker admitted in court Wednesday to drunk driving in his native Australia in July.
The 55-year-old Emmy nominee pleaded guilty to a charge of driving with a blood-alcohol concentration exceeding the legal limit of 0.05% when he appeared in New South Wales’ Mullumbimby Local Court Wednesday, NBC News reports.
As the “Margin Call” actor was a first-time offender and deemed remorseful, he was released on a nine-month good behavior bond.
“The court has little difficulty in finding that Mr. Baker is remorseful for his offending and it is unlikely he will offend again,” said magistrate Kathy Crittenden, adding that the actor was “very polite and cooperative.” Crittenden in part cited the four character references the court received on behalf of the “Devil Wears Prada” actor.
In the early morning of July 20, authorities stopped Baker in Byron Bay for “swerving over the center line” in his Tesla, as reported by 7News Australia.
They reported that he was “unsteady on his feet, had slurred speech, with watery bloodshot eyes and smelt” of alcohol, per the outlet.
Police ultimately administered an “old-fashioned sobriety test” — as it was in the hours following a worldwide IT outage. Baker, who had been alone in his car at the time, also admitted to having had four glasses of wine with dinner since 6 p.m.
Following the DUI, the court was told Baker also finished a rehabilitation program for traffic offenders.
Baker is best known for starring as the titular “Mentalist” in CBS’ police procedural, which aired from 2008 to 2015. Baker played faux “psychic”-turned-police consultant Patrick Jane, a role for which he scored the show’s sole Emmy nomination.
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