Britney Spears avoids jail with ‘wet reckless’ plea after DUI arrest

Britney Spears accepted a guilty plea to reckless driving following her arrest. Photo / The Jonathan Ross Show

Britney Spears has avoided jail time after accepting a guilty plea to reckless driving following her arrest in March.

A lawyer for Spears appeared at Ventura Superior Court on behalf of the singer and entered a guilty plea to reckless driving involving drugs or alcohol, People reported. Spears was not required to be in court.

The 44-year-old hitmaker was arrested in California on March 4 for allegedly driving fast and erratically under suspicion of driving under the influence.

Her lawyer, Michael Goldstein, accepted a “wet reckless” plea – a reduced charge covering reckless driving involving alcohol or drugs, commonly offered to first-time offenders where blood alcohol levels were low and no crash or injuries occurred, Page Six reported.

Spears was sentenced to 12 months’ probation and one day in jail, which she already served upon arrest, news.com.au reported. She was fined US$571 ($970) and must attend a three-month DUI program, which takes 30 hours of class time. Spears must also see a psychologist once a week and a psychiatrist twice a month.

The plea deal removed the possibility of significant jail time for the Toxic singer, who had recently completed a rehabilitation programme.

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko told reporters after the hearing that Spears would face extra scrutiny if she gets behind the wheel again, Page Six reported.

“One of the key components of the disposition this morning was to make sure that Ms Spears continued to undergo her mental health and substance abuse regimen.

“Bottom line, whether you are a famous singer or a schoolteacher we want the same thing for each and every first-time misdemeanour offender in Ventura County,” Nasarenko said.

Spears has not commented on the sentence.

After her arrest, the singer entered a rehab facility for substance abuse on April 12, Page Six reported.

“This isn’t about one substance in particular,” an unnamed source told Page Six at the time. “It has a dual purpose ... This is about Britney putting her mental health first and taking some time for herself to focus on the things that are important to her.”

Multiple sources said the arrest was a turning point for the singer.

“It’s been a very hard couple of months,” the source said.

People around Spears described her as “incredibly emotional” and said she was ashamed and embarrassed by the incident.

At the time of arrest, a representative for Spears told People the DUI was an “unfortunate incident” that was “completely inexcusable”.