Rick Springfield Pleads Not Guilty To 2 DUI Counts

MALIBU (CBS) — Singer-actor Rick Springfield pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a pair of misdemeanor DUI charges stemming from his May 1 arrest in Malibu.

The 61-year-old entertainer was not in court for arraignment. His attorney entered the plea on his behalf, as is allowed in misdemeanor cases.

Springfield -- known for the 1981 hit "Jessie's Girl" -- is charged with one misdemeanor count each of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and driving while having a 0.08 percent or higher blood-alcohol content.

A patrol deputy from the Malibu/Lost Hills station noticed Springfield as he "accelerated rapidly" from Heathercliff Road in his 1963 Corvette while driving on Pacific Coast Highway on the evening of May 1, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reported after his arrest.

Springfield was pulled over near Trancas Canyon Road and given field sobriety tests. An analysis of his breath indicated a blood-alcohol level of 0.10 percent, higher than the state limit of 0.08 percent, according to the Sheriff's Department.

He was released early the next morning.

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