BOBBY BROWN CONVICTED OF DUI

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Singer Bobby Brown buried his face in his
hands and sobbed Thursday as he was convicted of drunken driving and
ordered to spend five days in jail and undergo drug and alcohol treatment.

His wife, Whitney Houston, sat behind him crying as well.

Jurors deliberated about an hour after Brown's lawyer wrapped up his
defense by attacking the handling of blood evidence and questioning police
motives in waiting four months to charge him.

Brown, 30, broke four ribs and a foot when his black Porsche spun out of
control, jumped the curb and struck hedges and a street sign in Hollywood,
south of Fort Lauderdale, in 1996.

Police said he was speeding and lost control of the car, which was leased
to his wife.

Prosecutors said Brown's blood-alcohol level was above 0.2 percent -- more
than double Florida's 0.08 percent limit -- and blood tests showed the
presence of drugs.

Brown, according to prosecutors, turned down a standard offer to first time
offenders that carried no jail time but required drug treatment.

Judge Leonard Feiner sentenced Brown to five days in jail, a year of
probation and suspended his license for a year. He also ordered him to pay
a $500 fine, spend 30 days at a residential drug treatment center and serve
100 hours of community service.

In addition, Brown must appear in prime time anti-drug public service
announcements. If the television networks refuse to give him free time, he
must pay to air the spots.

Defense attorney Robert Buonauro said he plans to appeal the verdict and
rushed to keep Brown out of jail, paying $15,000 bond. Brown and Houston
had no comment as they left the courthouse. Neither testified at the trial.

Buonauro questioned the handling of the blood test administered when Brown
was admitted to a hospital, and suggested police targeted Brown because of
his celebrity.

``He's a person who they are looking at under a microscope,'' he said.

The prosecution argued that Brown's celebrity wasn't a factor in his
treatment either by police or at the hospital.

``Lady Justice doesn't look at the race of a person or how much money he
makes,'' prosecutor M. Rebeca Stevens said.

Brown, who lives in Mendham, N.J., is best known for his 1988 album ``Don't
Be Cruel'' and the hit single ``My Prerogative.''

It wasn't his first run-in with authorities.

In 1995, he was arrested after a nightclub brawl at Walt Disney World and
accused of beating a patron after an argument over a woman. Charges were
dropped when the patron agreed to a settlement.

Houston has a home on upscale William's Island, north of Miami.