'Tiger King's Jeff Lowe and Wife Lauren Take Plea Deals in DUI Case
Tiger King subject Jeff Lowe and his wife, Lauren Lowe, will not serve time behind bars following their DUI arrests over the summer. Both Lowe and his wife have accepted plea deals in their drunk driving case, prosecutors in Oklahoma confirmed to TMZ. Under the plea deals, both Lowe and Lauren have pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of DWI. While the plea deals come with no jail time or probation, both of the Lowes will be required to pay a fine and court costs. The plea bargains are a standard result in the city for these cases, prosecutors told the outlet.
The plea deals put an end to a case that has been ongoing for months. Lowe and his wife were arrested in Oklahoma City on the morning of Saturday, May 5 charges of driving under the influence after they were both seen driving under the influence at separate times. An incident report revealed that authorities spotted the couple's white Range Rover pull out of a parking lot at a high rate of speed and then stop abruptly. Lauren exited the vehicle and moved to the passenger's seat as Lowe moved to the driver's seat. After they were pulled over, a field sobriety test was conducted, with police noting that Lowe "appeared incredibly intoxicated." The report said Lauren also appeared drunk and was slurring her speech.
The Lowes certainly seem happy with the outcome. After news broke that they accepted plea deals, Lowe took to his official Instagram account to praise his defense attorney, Joshua C. Smith, who told TMZ that the couple "is happy with the outcome of the case." In his post, Lowe said he and his wife wanted "to give a shout out to one of the best attorneys that we've ever dealt with" before he went on to acknowledge the mistake he and his wife made that night and warned others from making a similar mistake.
"Our unfortunate choice to drink too much last year and get into a vehicle is one we deeply regret. What we do not regret, is hiring Oklahoma Criminal justice attorney Joshua Smith," Lowe wrote. "Since Tiger King dropped in 2020, we've probably had a dozen attorneys for various issues. We can honestly say that none of them hold a candle to Joshua. Please don't drink and drive, ever. However, if you make a foolish mistake like we did, you simply cannot find a more skilled lawyer in Oklahoma. Keep his number in your phone and tell him that we recommended him."
Lowe rose to internet stardom in March 2020 following the release of Netflix's hit docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. Lowe became Joe Exotic's partner, investing money into his roadside zoo, before Exotic ultimately transferred his zoo to Lowe's name. Since its initial release, Netflix has put out two more segments of Tiger King.