“The Mentalist” star Simon Baker admitted in court on Wednesday to drink 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 the New South Wales Mullumbimby Local Court on Wednesday, NBC News reports.
As the “Margin Call” actor. was a first-time offender and believed to be remorseful, he was released on a nine-month good behavior bond.
“The court has little difficulty finding that Mr. Baker is remorseful for his offending and is unlikely to re-offend,” Judge Kathy Crittenden said, adding that the actor was “very polite and co-operative.” Crittenden cited in part the four character references the court received on behalf of the “Devil Wears Prada” actor.
In the early morning hours of July 20, authorities stopped Baker in Byron Bay for “swerving across the center line” in his Tesla, as reported by 7News Australia.
They reported that he was “unsteady on his feet, had slurred speech, watery bloodshot eyes and smelled” of alcohol, according to the extract.
The police eventually administered an “old fashioned field sobriety test” – as it was during the hours after a worldwide IT outage. Baker, who was alone in his car at the time, also admitted to drinking four glasses of wine with dinner since 6 p.m.
After the DUI, the court was told Baker also completed a traffic offender rehabilitation program.
Baker is best known for starring as the titular “Mentalist” on the CBS police procedural, which aired from 2008 to 2015. Baker played fake “psychic” turned police consultant Patrick Jane, a role for which he received the show’s only Emmy- nomination.