Backstreet Boy Nick Carter Busted!

And we thought A.J. was the bad boy: Squeaky clean Backstreet Boy Nick Carter was arrested early Wednesday morning for allegedly disobeying a cop's orders to leave a Tampa, Florida, nightclub.

The blond, 21-year-old singer (and youngest Boy of the Backstreet) has been charged with a misdemeanor count of resisting or opposing a law enforcement officer without violence. Carter was cuffed and placed in a squad car, but was later released on his own recognizance, police say. He's due in court March 4.

Police pulled up to the Pop City nightclub late Tuesday night after a fight reportedly broke out, and they returned around 3 a.m. to break up another scuffle. As officers were making arrests and breaking up the melée, Carter allegedly began arguing with an unidentified woman, according to the arrest report (a copy of which has been posted on The Smoking Gun).

Cops say they asked Carter to leave the club at least 10 times before giving him the parental-style "count of three" or he'd be arrested. Sure enough, police say Carter wanted it that way: He kept playing games with their heart and was promptly cuffed.

"The cops arrested him, put him in handcuffs, and then put him in the police car. Nick wasn't belligerent, but he started balling," one eyewitness, speaking on the condition of anonymity, tells The Smoking Gun.

"He said, 'You just want to arrest a Backstreet Boy. I've never been arrested. I don't know what to do!' He was crying hard. Tears were streaming down his face. People were laughing at him. The cops were chuckling."

No comment yet from the Backstreet Boys' management or publicist.

Carter, whose younger brother Aaron has embarked on his own solo pop career, lives outside Tampa, and according to the Backstreet Boys Website, is the group's official prankster. More fittingly, Carter also goes by the nicknames "Chaos," "Mr. Hyper Man" and "Frack" (which, we now presume, is short for "fracas").

Up until now, it seems the only Backstreet Boy making tabloid headlines was the group's "official" bad boy, A.J. McLean--the tattooed Backstreeter who in July checked himself into rehab for alcohol abuse and depression. The group was forced to postpone its U.S. and Canadian tour twice, but the 24-year-old singer returned to the group in August, declaring his sobriety and helping his bandmates push their Black & Blue disc and their new greatest hits disc, The Hits: Chapter One.

The group is currently scoring sentimental points on Total Request Live with its hit single "Drowning," off the best-of compilation.

Backstreet Boy Nick Carter Arrested At Tampa Nightclub

(1/3/02, 5:30 p.m. ET) -- Backstreet Boy Nick Carter was arrested after he refused to follow police orders to leave the Tampa nightclub Pop City Bar after a fight broke out at approximately 3:20 a.m. ET Wednesday morning (January 2).

Tampa Police spokesman Joe Durkin explained to LAUNCH, "Several officers were trying to restore order at the bar, and Carter became involved in a loud argument with a female." He added, "Police officers told him several times to quiet down and leave--and after being told 10 times, he was placed under arrest."

The spokesman continued: "(Carter) was subsequently arrested and charged with one misdemeanor count of resisting/opposing a police officer without violence. He was handcuffed, placed in a patrol car, and released on his own recognizance later that same day." The 21-year-old singer's first court appearance is scheduled for March 4 at the Hillsborough County Court House, according to Durkin.

Backstreet Boy Nick Carter Arrested After Argument In Tampa Bar
By Joe D'Angelo and Tina Johnson

Backstreet Boy Nick Carter was arrested in Tampa, Florida, early Wednesday morning for refusing to heed police officers' orders to leave a nightclub following a fight.

Carter, 21, was charged with a misdemeanor count of resisting/opposing a law enforcement officer without violence and was released on his own recognizance, according to a police spokesperson. The offense carries a sentence of up to one year in jail and a $500 fine.

Police were summoned to Pop City nightclub earlier in the evening to investigate a fight, and they returned to the club at 3:20 a.m. to break up a second, unrelated disturbance. As the officers arrested five patrons responsible for the ruckus, they observed Carter, a resident of nearby Marathon, involved in a loud argument with an unidentified woman.

Police say that when they instructed him to quiet down more than 10 times and he refused, the youngest of the five Backstreet Boys (news - web sites) was given an ultimatum to "leave by the count of three." When time ran out and Carter was still there, he was handcuffed, placed in a police car and arrested. The unidentified woman was not.

Backstreet Boys' publicist at Jive Records did not immediately return calls, and a spokesperson at Pop City had no comment.

Carter is scheduled to answer the charges in court March 4

from Associated Press:

Backstreet Boy Nick Carter Arrested

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Backstreet Boy Nick Carter was arrested on suspicion of refusing to follow police officers' orders to leave a nightclub after a fight broke out.

The youngest of the five-member pop group at age 21, Carter was charged Wednesday with a misdemeanor count of resisting/opposing a law enforcement officer without violence. He was handcuffed, placed in a squad car and released on his own recognizance.

In a statement released Thursday, Carter said he did nothing wrong.

"I truly believe my celebrity motivated the officer to arrest me," he said. "I am certain that after a full investigation of the facts my name will be cleared."

His first court appearance is set for March 4, Tampa Police spokesman Joe Durkin said Thursday.

"Outside of who this defendant is, it's not that unusual a thing to happen," Durkin said.

Police were called to the Pop City nightclub early Tuesday evening because of a fight. They returned to the nightclub later in the night to break up another disturbance. While officers made arrests and tried to restore peace, Carter became involved in an argument with a woman, according to the arrest affidavit.

He was told to leave the nightclub more than 10 times until officers told him to leave by "the count of 3" or he would be arrested. Carter continued the argument and was arrested, the affidavit said.

Carter said he was attempting to comply with the officers' request to leave but was "simply moving too slow."

Carter, who lives outside Tampa, is the second Backstreet Boy to run into trouble in recent months. In July, A.J. McLean spent time at a rehabilitation center for depression and alcohol abuse, forcing the group to postpone its U.S. and Canadian tour. McLean, who turns 24 next week, has said he's been sober ever since.