Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak-Biermann’s daughter Ariana Biermann is facing some legal trouble. After putting her life in the spotlight on Don’t Be Tardy, the 20-year-old’s life was put in headlines for more reasons than just reality TV after she was arrested and booked on three separate charges, including misdemeanor DUI driving under the influence of alcohol, in August 2022.
Ariana’s arrest occurred in the early morning hours of Saturday, Aug. 13 after the RHOA alum, who was driving a black Mercedes G-Wagon, was involved in a collision with another car in Atlanta around 1 a.m. A Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office police report obtained by PEOPLE revealed that when officers arrived on the scene, they could smell alcohol on Ariana’s breath. The 20-year-old, however, denied drinking any alcoholic beverages, instead suggesting that “the odor was possibly from her clothing,” though she did admit to smoking a THC vape pen the night before. Authorities recovered the vape pen from her bag.
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Suspecting that Ariana had been driving under the influence, officers performed a field sobriety arrest, during which Ariana “had a noticeable sway.” Ariana also underwent a horizontal gaze nystagmus evaluation, and the responding officers reported that they observed “four out of six clues” that she was intoxicated. Officers then seized her driver’s license and Ariana was taken into police custody. She was charged with three misdemeanors: driving under the influence of alcohol, improper/erratic lane change and underage possession/purchase of alcohol and booked in the Forsyth County Jail with the surname Zolciak, her mother’s maiden name, and not her adopted father’s name, Biermann. Her on-and-off boyfriend Hudson McLeroy, who was also in the vehicle, was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence, as well as allegedly furnishing alcohol to a minor and violating the conditions of his limited driving permit.
Despite the charges she is facing, Ariana has continued to deny that she was intoxicated. In a statement released just after her arrest, her attorney, Justin Spizman, told TMZ, “Despite Ariana’s constant invocation that she was upset and anxious from the minor accident, the officer incorrectly concluded she was impaired by alcohol. That was not the case. She wholly denies these allegations and intends to fight these charges because she is not guilty of them.”
Although Ariana, who was later released on bond, has yet to publicly address the incident herself, her mother defended her daughter. On Aug. 17, Zolciak-Biermann reshared Spizman’s statement to her Instagram Story and also claimed that her daughter was “not impaired by any substance, including alcohol or marijuana,” according to Fox News. She went on to write that Ariana was “being cooperative and honest” and “admitted to consuming marijuana the day before, meaning over 24 hours prior to her contact with the law.” She added that “the arresting officer, as evidenced by his own police report, charged Ariana with impairment by alcohol. She wholly denies these allegations and intends to fight these charges because she is not guilty of them.” A court date has been set for Ariana.
