Lohan gets probation, 1 day in jail for DUI charges

LOS ANGELES, Aug 24 (Reuters) Actress Lindsay Lohan pleaded no contest to charges of possessing cocaine and drunken driving and will serve one day in jail, 10 days community service and three years of probation, officials said.

Lohan, 21, was charged with seven counts of misdemeanor drug possession and drunken driving stemming from two separate arrests yesterday, but avoided more serious drug charges that could have earned her a long jail sentence.

''It is clear to me that my life has become completely unmanageable because I am addicted to alcohol and drugs.

Recently, I relapsed and did things for which I am ashamed. I broke the law, and today I took responsibility,'' Lohan said in a statement.

The troubled actress, who is in a rehab clinic in Utah, was arrested in May after wrecking her car in Beverly Hills, and in July following a car chase in the Los Angeles area community of Santa Monica.

In both cases, Lohan possessed cocaine, but the amounts were below the .05 grams required for more serious felony charges of drug possession, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said.

Following an hour-long conference in Beverly Hills, at which Lohan's attorneys entered the pleas, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Danette Meyers said Lohan did not receive any special consideration because she was a celebrity.

Lohan's attorney entered pleas of no contest to charges of driving with a blood alcohol level over the limit of .08 per cent, being under the influence of cocaine and reckless driving. In exchange, two counts of driving under the influence were dropped. A no contest plea is neither an admission of guilt, nor a denial.

A Beverly Hills Superior Court judge ordered Lohan to serve four days in jail on the charges, but reduced the sentence to two days and gave Lohan one day of credit for time already spent in jail. She must serve the time before January 18.

The judge also ordered Lohan to perform 10 days of community service and attend 18 months of an alcohol education program during her three-year probation.

Lohan, who did two previous stints in rehab clinics this year, is one of several young celebrities, including Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, who have faced legal troubles.

Lohan rose to fame as a teenager in Disney films like ''Freaky Friday,'' but last year her hard-partying ways got her into trouble when the producer of ''Georgia Rule'' admonished her for showing up late after partying.

''Georgia Rule,'' in which she portrayed a troubled teenager, proved to be a box office disappointment and last month's movie, ''I Know Who Killed Me,'' bombed.

REUTERS AK BST0448