Keith Webster, the driver who is accused of crashing through the gates of the Georgica estate of Beyonce and Jay-Z, appeared in East Hampton Town Justice Court last week for the first time since his arraignment for the July 15 incident.
On July 29, he told Justice Steven Tekulsky that he had yet to find a lawyer to represent him, and had not yet checked in with probation officers either. Justice Tekulsky had issued a restraining order on behalf of the pop stars at the arraignment, ordering Mr. Webster to stay away from them and their property.
Mr. Webster, 63, of the Bronx, is retired. Because he receives a pension from New York State, he is not eligible for Legal Aid. He has no previous criminal history.
According to village police, he pulled into a driveway on Briar Patch Road just before the incident and asked whether someone the police would not name lived there. After being turned away, he headed to the couple’s estate.
Police found him that afternoon sitting on the ground near his Subaru, which sustained extensive front-end damage. A guard at the gate reportedly kept him from fleeing.
Security guards said the man had driven at a “high rate of speed up the driveway” and did not stop, but continued driving onto the property.
Several days after his arrest, Detective Sgt. Jennifer Dunn told The Star that officials had used Flock license plate-reading cameras to track Mr. Webster’s movements that day.
“He came into the village in the early morning, Wednesday, and drives out to Montauk, for what purpose I don’t know,” the detective said. “Then he comes back through the village, goes up to Main Beach, sits at the head of the beach, and drives back out to Montauk. Then he drives back to Main Beach and ends up down in the Georgica Pond area.”
Mr. Webster is charged with second-degree criminal mischief, a felony, and third-degree criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor. It remains unclear, even after his court appearance, what his intentions were that day and if he intended to harm the couple. He had no weapons in his possession.
“He wasn’t making threats. He seemed confused,” Detective Sgt. Dunn told The Star.
After the crash, police took him initially to Stony Brook’s emergency building in East Hampton, but he was quickly released back into police custody. Police issued him a court appearance ticket and released him on his own recognizance.
Justice Tekulsky noted that the man had not been answering calls from the probation department, which will be monitoring him prior to sentencing. Mr. Webster answered that he’d been hospitalized since being released from police custody, but was warned that if he fails to meet the terms of his release, stricter terms would be imposed.
Justice Tekulsky set a return date of Aug. 26, and Mr. Webster left court as a passenger in a pickup truck with Delaware license plates.