Snooki pleads guilty to annoyance, receives fine, community service

Snooki has been deemed annoying in a court of law.


Jersey Shore star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi plead guilty to annoying other beachgoers in court on Wednesday and was sentenced to two days community service and a $500 fine for a July incident in which she was arrested during the filming of the MTV reality show's third season in Seaside Heights, NJ.

Snooki was arrested on July 30 after Seaside Heights beachgoers complained the drunken Jersey Shore star was bothering them and causing a public disturbance by stumbling around the beach and using loud language. 

Snooki later blamed "too many tequilas" for her behavior, which she has claimed not to remember and reportedly ended with her telling officers "You can't do this to me, I'm f-cking Snooki... you guys are going to be sorry for this" as she was arrested.

Police originally charged Snooki with disorderly conduct and creating a public nuisance, however prosecutors later added a third annoyance count during an August 18 court hearing in which she pleaded not guilty to all three charges.


Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the disorderly conduct and public nuisance charges during Wednesday's court hearing after Snooki's lawyer admitted she was under the influence and had violated a municipal ordinance which restricts anyone from "interfering with the enjoyment of the quiet use of the beach or public boardwalk" but had insisted her behavior was not "criminal in nature," CNN reported.

"I would definitely like to apologize to the Seaside cops.  When I saw what happened and everyone told me what happened, I was very embarrassed.  This is not like me, I've never been in this situation before happened before, so I would definitely like to apologize to anyone that I hurt," Snooki said in court on Wednesday.

Municipal Court Judge Damian G. Murray then sentenced Snooki to pay a $500 fine and $33 in court costs as well as perform two days of community service for Seaside Heights' animal control unit -- which immediately became a one-day balance when the judge gave her credit for a day of volunteer service she had done at the Popcorn Park Zoo in Forked River, NJ on Sunday.

"Based on my negotiations with the prosecutors and our looking at the police reports and talking about the charges, it was determined that while there may have been probable cause to issue the summons, it did not rise to the level of criminal conduct," defense attorney Raymond Raya told reporters after the court hearing ended. 

"Nicole just acted silly on the beach that day, the conduct was not criminal.  She had a couple of drinks, stumbled into a couple of people onto the beach, and because of the nature of her celebrity... [ended up in] in a nerve-wracking experience."


"I told the judge her conduct was an anomaly in an otherwise well-lived life.  What you see on television in about 45 minutes a week of what someone does in a week.  It doesn't show everything that they do, it doesn't show what they do when they're not being filmed."

Raya also took issue with Murray's claim that Snooki seems "to be acting like a Lindsay Lohan wannabe" as he delivered his sentence.

"Any comparisons that anyone would make to celebrity misbehavior, I think, is unwarranted," he said.  "Because we didn't have a trial today, I don't think the judge got a full flavor for the person that is Nicole Polizzi.  And I think that in making the comment and comparing her to another celebrity for her first offense when other celebrities have had multiple, multiple offenses I think was perhaps a bit misplaced, but he is a good judge."

"I think in this instance while the sentence was correct, I think the other comments he got wrong... I think that that was completely unfair.  From what I know of [Lohan], I think she has been to court five or six times, has violated probation on numerous occasions, [and] there's been evidence of drug use and evidence of scoffing at the court.  This is not Nicole Polizzi."

Raya said he expects Snooki to complete her remaining community service "within the next few months."


Snooki cleaned out cages and fed animals during her day at the Popcorn Zoo, facility for abused or neglected animals, according to Raya. 

Jersey Shore's third season finished filming last week and is expected to debut early next year.






About The Author: Steven Rogers