TSG's favorite Backstreet Boy, 21-year-old Nick Carter, just got popped in Florida for ignoring repeated police orders to leave a nightclub where cops were trying to quell a disturbance. Carter--engaged in a heated argument with an unknown woman--was hit with a misdemeanor charge of resisting/opposing a law enforcement officer (lil' Nick was nabbed Wednesday (1/2) at 3:20 AM). This Tampa Police Department report notes that: a) baby-faced Nick is not a gang member; b) some Sunshine State cops give you at least ten chances to avoid arrest; and c) some officers will actually count to three before slapping on the cuffs. Released on his own recognizance, Nick is scheduled to headline a March 4 appearance in County Court. (2 pages)
Since the police report's brief narrative exhibits poor penmanship, here's a transcription:
"The def was involved in a large disturbence at PopCity club in Channelside earlier in the evening. Later that evening, a large unreleated disturbance/fight erupted, as police were trying to arrest subjects and restore peace. At this time, the def became involved in an arguement w/ an uk w/f. Police, trying t orestore order, ordered the def to leave over (10) times. Finally, the def was told he had to leave by the count of (3) or he would be arrested. The def continued the arguement and would not leave, and was arrested w/o incident. The def was id w/ a FL DL. Def was recogged."
EYEWITNESS TO THE WATERWORKS: While we feel for poor Nick, The Smoking Gun has to laugh at the Backstreet Boy's public meltdown after police decided to arrest the apparently tipsy singer. TSG spoke Thursday afternoon with Jennifer Guggino, a 21-year-old Brandon, Florida woman present at the time of Carter's bust (and who is listed as the lone civilian witness in the Tampa police report). Guggino, who told TSG she was standing close to Carter when police asked him to leave, gave this account of his subsequent bust:
"The cops arrested him, put him in handcuffs, and then put him in the police car. Nick wasn't belligerent, but he started bawling. He said, 'You just want to arrest a Backstreet Boy. I've never been arrested. I don't know what to do!' He was crying hard. Tears were streaming down his face. People were laughing at him. The cops were chuckling."
Guggino added that as Carter--whom she described as an acquaintance--sat in the police cruiser, she approached the weepy Backstreet Boy and asked him why he was crying. He answered, "It's okay to cry," she recalled.
