By Alan Duke
LOS ANGELES (CNN) — Singer Bobby Brown is headed to jail next month to serve a 55-day sentence imposed for his second drunken driving conviction in a year.
The jail time is stiffer because his driver’s license was suspended after he pleaded no contest last summer to another charge of driving under the influence, the Los Angeles city attorney’s spokesman said.
Brown, 44, spent time in a “confidential rehabilitation center” last August as part of his plea deal for the April 2012 arrest.
The judge ordered Brown to attend at least three Alcoholics Anonymous sessions each week until he reports to the Los Angeles County jail on March 20, according to the city attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan.
Brown was not in court Tuesday when his lawyer entered his guilty plea on charges of driving under the influence, driving on a suspended license and violating his probation for the earlier conviction.
A lawyer for the singer said he has accepted responsibility, and is committed to his sobriety.
“Brown is pleased that the matter has been resolved,” attorney Christopher Brown said in a statement.
The judge imposed 10 days in jail for the drunken driving offense, 10 days for the suspended license conviction and 35 days for the probation violation, according to Mateljan.
His probation was extended to four years, Mateljan said.
A Los Angeles police officer smelled “a strong scent of alcohol” when he approached Brown during the Ventura Boulevard traffic stop last October, a police spokesman said.
He was arrested after a field sobriety test, the spokesman said.
Brown was previously married to Whitney Houston, whom he divorced in 2007. He has one daughter, Bobbi Kristina, from his relationship with Houston, as well as three other children. Houston died a little more than a year ago.
Brown, who has been touring with his R&B group, New Edition, released “Masterpiece,” his first solo album in 14 years, last June.
CNN’s Jennifer Wolfe contributed to this report.
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