Kim Zolciak’s daughter Ariana Biermann reportedly denied drinking and claimed she did not use marijuana until much earlier when she was charged with drink-driving in Forsyth County, Georgia early Saturday morning.
Police reported that despite the 20-year-old Don’t Be Tardy star’s denials, officers told her they could smell alcohol on her breath and possibly even on her clothes, according to TMZ.
According to police, Biermann admitted that she “had smoked a THC vape pen the night before but had not drunk anything.”
Denial: Kim Zolciak’s daughter Ariana Biermann, 20, denied drinking and claimed she had not used marijuana until much earlier when she was booked for a DUI in Forsyth County, Georgia early Saturday morning, according to TMZ on Monday
However, it’s unclear if “the night before” refers to Friday night, just hours before she was booked, or if she claimed to have last smoked a marijuana vape on Thursday night.
According to Drugs and Me, operated by the Mental Health Education Foundation, the high effects of marijuana vape typically last around 1 to 3 hours after use, although they can last up to 8 hours.
Ariana was logged into the system after 1am on Saturday morning.
Despite Biermann’s claim that she wasn’t drinking, officers reportedly saw her “noticeably swaying” when she took a sobriety test at the scene.
Timeline: Ariana was logged into the system after 1am on Saturday morning, so it’s unclear if she meant vaping Friday night or Thursday night a few hours earlier
It’s also not clear if she ever received a breathalyzer test or a blood test to more definitively determine if she had been drinking.
Biermann faces three separate charges, including misdemeanor DUI driving under the influence, misdemeanor improper/unexpected lane change, and underage alcohol possession/purchase.
She has since been released on bail.
According to TMZ, her boyfriend Hudson McLeroy, also 20, was arrested on suspicion of alcohol consumption at the same time Ariana was in the car with him.
Strong odor: Despite her denials, police said she smelled alcohol on her breath
In the car: Her friend Hudson McLeroy, 20, was also arrested on suspicion of alcohol at the time
McLeroy was booked for DUI, along with charges of supplying/purchasing alcohol under the age of 21 and violating his driver’s license.
However, it appears that Ariana’s allegations are the more serious of the two given that she was behind the wheel at the time of her arrest.
“Ariana was involved in a small fender bender. When police arrived at the scene, the investigating officer immediately launched an investigation into DUI,” her attorney told TMZ.
“Despite Ariana’s constant pleas that she was upset and concerned about the minor accident, the officer wrongly concluded that she was impaired by alcohol. That was not the case. She completely denies these allegations and intends to fight these allegations as she is not guilty of them.’
Crash: Ariana was involved in a small fender bender. Both she and her boyfriend and Hudson McLeroy (left) were in the car at the time, with Ariana at the wheel
Going all the way: Ariana’s lawyer has said she denies being drunk and was just devastated by the crash; In the picture Ariana Biermann, left, and Kim Zolciak-Biermann, right
Ariana has appeared on The Real Housewives of Atlanta alongside her mother, Kim Zolciak-Biermann, since the Bravo show began in 2008. She was only six years old at the time.
After the show, she appeared in eight seasons of her mother’s spinoff show, Don’t Be Tardy.
Ariana is now a social media influencer and spends her time promoting her family’s line of custom product boxes featuring their favorite items.
Known as The B Box, the project is a joint venture by her eldest sister, Brielle.
The rest of the time, Ariana posts photos of her social life with her Instagram full of photos of the food she eats, makeup she wears, along with posts about various outings and trips.
Reality star: Ariana, far left, has appeared on The Real Housewives of Atlanta alongside her mother Kim (right) and older sister Brielle (center) since the Bravo show began in 2008. seen in 2011