MULLUMBIMBY, Australia (AP) — Simon Baker, the Australian actor and director famous for his role as Patrick Jane on the CBS series “The Mentalist,” avoided a criminal record on Wednesday after admitting to driving under the influence of alcohol near his home in the countryside.
The 55-year-old attended the Mullumbimby Local Court in New South Wales for sentencing after pleading guilty the previous week to driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.05%.
Baker gained recognition for his work alongside stars like Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in the acclaimed 2006 film “The Devil Wears Prada.” He later became well-known for his portrayal of a former psychic who worked as a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation in “The Mentalist,” a popular series that aired for eight seasons until 2015. Since then, he has been involved in various projects, including a film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel “Klara and the Sun,” which is directed by Taika Waititi and is set to be released in 2025.
During the court proceedings, Magistrate Kathy Crittenden recognized that Baker felt remorseful about his actions and was unlikely to drive after drinking again. As a consequence, she placed him on a nine-month good behavior bond without recording a conviction against him. Under specific circumstances, Australian judges have the discretion to decide not to record a conviction for first-time offenders.
Police had noticed Baker’s Tesla driving erratically in the upscale Byron Bay area where he lives at around 2:11 a.m. on July 20.
This incident took place just hours after a faulty software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike caused widespread technical disruptions, affecting airlines, hospitals, government operations, and financial services. Crittenden explained that this outage disabled police systems, making it impossible to conduct an electronic breath test on Baker.
As a result, the police opted for a traditional sobriety test. According to their report, Baker appeared unsteady and had the smell of alcohol on him. He informed the officers that he had consumed four glasses of wine during dinner, which he started around 6 p.m., approximately eight hours earlier. At the time, he was alone in the car.
The police described Baker as “very polite and cooperative,” stating that he was “extremely remorseful” for what he had done. The court was also informed that he had completed a rehabilitation program for traffic offenders since the incident.
Magistrate Crittenden noted that the court received four character references that highlighted Baker’s positive contributions to the community, expressed his deep remorse, and emphasized that this behavior was out of character for him.
“The court has little difficulty in concluding that Mr. Baker is truly remorseful for his actions and it is improbable that he will reoffend in the future,” she stated.
