The pop star was taken into custody in Ventura County, Calif., after driving erratically, according to law enforcement.

New details emerge in Britney Spears DUI arrest, authorities suspect ‘combination of drugs and alcohol’

The pop star was taken into custody in Ventura County, Calif., after driving erratically, according to law enforcement.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

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March 5, 2026 8:26 p.m. ET

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Britney Spears at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. Credit:

Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

Further details have emerged in the arrest of pop star Britney Spears, who was taken into custody in Southern California on Wednesday evening on suspicion of DUI.

According to law enforcement sources, authorities suspected that Spears, 44, was under the influence of a "combination of alcohol and drugs."

Authorities tell ** that at 8:48 p.m., a report came in to the California Highway Patrol that a black BMW 430i was driving erratically at a high speed on the 101 freeway in Ventura County. Officers are said to have pulled the car over at the Westlake Boulevard exit and found Spears alone, with the singer allegedly showing signs of impairment.

After a series of field sobriety tests, Spears was arrested and booked into the Ventura County Jail. She was released Thursday morning, and her next court date is set for May 4.

Representatives for Spears didn't immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

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A representative previously told PEOPLE of Spears' arrest, "This was an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable. Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life."

Expressing hope that Spears "can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time," the rep added, "Her boys are going to be spending time with her. Her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for well being."**

What to know about Britney Spears' past controversies and legal woes

Every Britney Spears Song, Ranked

Spears' run-in with the law comes more than four years after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge released her from a 13-year conservatorship. Just last month she went on Instagram and declared that she's "lucky to be alive," referencing the way she's been treated over the years by those closest to her. "As people, all we really want is to feel connected to each other and never feel alone," she wrote. "For those of you in your family that have said to help you is to isolate you and make you feel unbelievably left out… they were wrong."

Spears recently made headlines with her music when news broke that the singer was selling her hit-filled catalog for an estimated $200 million.

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