VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — Britney Spears pleaded guilty through her lawyer Monday to a lesser charge that will allow her to avoid jail time after prosecutors accused her of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs in Southern California.
The 44-year-old pop star didn’t appear in Ventura County court. But on her behalf, her lawyer, Michael A. Goldstein, agreed to plead to what’s commonly called a “wet reckless.” That allows her to be sentenced to a year of probation, a required DUI class and state-mandated fines.
The plea offer was standard for defendants with no DUI history, no crash or injury on the road, and a low blood-alcohol level, the county district attorney’s office said. And it’s especially common for defendants who have shown motivation to address their problems and seek treatment, as Spears did when she voluntarily checked in to a substance abuse treatment center in April.
She was charged Thursday with one misdemeanor DUI count, which meant she was not required to appear in court for her arraignment. But her representatives hadn’t said whether she would appear, and the hearing drew an unusually heavy news media turnout for Ventura, a seaside city of about 110,000 people roughly 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of downtown LA.
The singer has a home in Ventura County near where she was arrested on March 4. A representative at the time called her actions inexcusable and said the arrest would ideally lead to overdue change in her life. Spears and her representatives have not commented since she was charged.
She was pulled over for driving her black BMW quickly and erratically on U.S. 101, the California Highway Patrol said. She appeared to be impaired, took a series of field sobriety tests, was arrested and was taken to jail, the CHP said.
Authorities said in the criminal complaint that Spears had alcohol and drugs in her system, but they didn’t specify which drugs or list her blood alcohol content.
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