Kim Zolciak’s daughter Ariana Biermann has been sentenced after her 2022 arrest for driving under the influence.
Per court documents obtained by Us Weekly on Wednesday, May 28, a hearing was held earlier this week in Ariana’s criminal case. Ariana, 23, denied that she had been drinking before she drove, but admitted to smoking a THC vape the night before. (In Touch was the first to report the news.)
In the plea deal, Ariana, 23, pleaded guilty to reckless driving and possession and use of drug related objects. Other charges, including a DUI, were dropped by prosecutors.
Ariana will serve 24 months of probation, but the court noted that any violation of her probation could result in serving jail time. The order also stated that Ariana would receive a request from a probation officer or other official “from time to time” to provide a breath, saliva, urine or blood specimen for analysis.
Ariana was ordered to pay over $2,000 in fines, perform 40 hours of community service, eliminate alcoholic beverages or drugs unless prescribed and complete an evaluation for substance abuse and take a Victim Impact program. If Ariana completes all requirements and pays all fines, the court noted that the probation could end early.
“Ms. Biermann maintained her innocence since her arrest. We are pleased that the State of Georgia eventually decided to dismiss the impaired driving charge and offer Ms. Biermann the opportunity to plead guilty to a traffic ticket,” Ariana’s lawyer, Justin Spizman, told In Touch in a statement. “Despite her desire to fight this case, she took advantage of the opportunity to put this matter behind her and focus her energy on all the positive endeavors in her life.”
Us has reached out to Ariana’s rep for comment.
Ariana’s sentencing comes days ahead of the premiere of Bravo’s Next Gen NYC, which stars Ariana and several other former Housewives’ children. (Zolciak is mom to daughters Ariana and Brielle, 28, from a previous relationship, whom ex-husband Kroy Biermann adopted after their marriage. Zolciak and Biermann, who divorced in 2023, also share sons KJ, 13, and Kash, 12, and 11-year-old twins Kaia and Kane.)
Us confirmed in August 2022 that Ariana had been arrested after being involved in a car crash. She denied drinking and driving before the accident.
“Ariana was involved in a minor fender bender. When police arrived on scene, the investigating officer immediately initiated an investigation for DUI,” Spizman said in a statement at the time. “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.”
In the police report obtained by Us, the officer who arrived at the scene claimed Ariana did not seem to be sober.
“I advised [Ariana] that I could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath. She stated the odor was possibly from her clothing,” he wrote. “Ariana stated she had smoked a THC vape pen the night before but did not drink.”
The report continued, “I conducted field sobriety evaluations with Ariana and observed signs of impairment. I observed that she had a noticeable sway during the evaluations,” adding that a fellow officer conducted a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test and “observed four out of six clues.”
The officer noted that Ariana refused to “provide a breath sample to the preliminary breath test” at the scene and allegedly changed her mind about giving a blood test.
After Ariana was released, Zolciak took to social media to defend her daughter.
“Ariana was involved in a minor fender bender. When police arrived on the scene, the investigating officer immediately initiated an investigation for DUI of alcohol,” she wrote via Instagram. “Despite Ariana’s constant invocation that she was upset and anxious from the minor accident, the officer incorrectly concluded she was impaired. That was not the case.”
She continued: “Since she was being cooperative and honest, she admitted to consuming marijuana the day before, meaning over 24 hours prior to her contact with the law. … We appreciate the general public allowing this case to be tried on its merits, and not rhetoric or incorrect conclusions.”
