Not a fan, not yet a felon?
Four young men accused of burglarizing Britney Spears and her former sweetie,
'N Sync (news - web sites) crooner Justin Timberlake, are off the hook.
A Florida judge sentenced Salvador Martinez, 19, Richard Olivarez, 20, Marcus
Cook, 19, and Matthew Daily, 18, each to three years' probation Thursday after
they pleaded no contest to raiding the ex-couple's rented vacation home in the
Panhandle town of Destin, Florida, the Northwest Florida Daily News
reports.
The four had been facing up to 20 months in jail but managed to avoid the
harsh penalty.
And they can literally thank their lucky stars.
Circuit Court Judge G. Robert Barron signed off on the reduced sentence after
lawyers representing Spears and Timberlake offered the crook quartet a deal. To
avoid jail time, the young men would have to plead no contest and sign a
"nondisclosure agreement as it pertains to B. Spears and J.
Timberlake."
In other words, the foursome won't be giving away pop secrets anytime soon or
selling their story to the Enquirer. They're not allowed to talk about
what they saw inside the house or the items they swiped.
Not that what they might reveal is very juicy, anyway. According to Okaloosa
County Sheriff's office spokesman Rick Ford, the stolen goods included a cell
phone, a scarf, a "Gilligan-style" blue-and-white hat, a $30 pair of
shoes, a few articles of clothing, a martini glass, a bottle of Jack Daniels and
a bottle of Bacardi. (While Britney and Justin were both underage, they were
vacationing with their families, which might explain the booze.)
The most expensive items swiped were a couple of camcorders--worth $1,000 and
$3,000, respectively--a videocassette deck and some videotapes of "personal
footage."
Ford says much of what was stolen didn't belong to Spears and Timberlake and
wasn't very revealing anyway (to the dismay of those hoping the self-proclaimed
virgin and her boyfriend were the second coming of Pamela Anderson and Tommy
Lee).
"I've spoken many times to the deputy who watched the tape the whole way
through, and he insists that there's nothing outrageous or scandalous on the
videotape whatsoever. It's just like anyone else's vacation video," said
Ford.
All told, the thieves made off with about $5,000 worth of stuff. One of the
accused reportedly told police they just wanted to nab a "souvenir" of
Britney's, although they didn't specify what kind of keepsake they were looking
for.
As for Britney, the 20-year-old popster has apparently broken up with her
former Mickey Mouse Club mate. Last month, she declared she's not "in an
intense relationship with anyone" right now. Instead, Spears has got her
mind on other things--like food.
The singer is planning to open her own Manhattan eatery, Nyla (formerly
Pinky's, after Tiberlake's pet name for her), in May with the aid of New York
dining-scene impresario Bobby Ochs before setting out on yet another tour, which
kicks off in Las Vegas on May 24 and wraps in Dallas on July 22.
Timberlake, meanwhile, is out on the road with his 'N Sync pals. Their
current trek is due to wind down April 28 in their hometown of Orlando.
Source: story.news.yahoo.com
updated: 04-15-2002 21:11
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