Released From Jail & Hospital...

[From Associated Press]

Bobby Brown Released From Hospital

.c The Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) - R&B singer Bobby Brown was released from the hospital Wednesday, one day after being transferred there from jail.

He also was released from jail custody under a ``good time'' policy that reduces sentences by 25 percent for good behavior.

Brown, the husband of pop diva Whitney Houston, had been serving an eight-day jail sentence since last Friday, after pleading guilty to a 1996 drunken driving charge.

The singer had been taken from the county jail to Grady Memorial Hospital Tuesday morning. DeKalb County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Mikki Jones has declined to provide details, saying inmates' medical information is confidential.

Brown, who was put on two years' probation, also was ordered to perform community service and not to drive for a year.

He was arrested Nov. 7 on charges of possessing less than an ounce of marijuana, speeding and having no driver's license or proof of insurance. After posting bond in Atlanta, he was transferred to the neighboring DeKalb County Jail to face the older charges.

Brown, 33, has had several brushes with the law, including a 26-day stint in a Florida jail in 2000 for violating parole on a 1996 drunken driving conviction by refusing a drug test.

He left R&B group New Edition in the late '80s for a solo career. His hits include ``My Prerogative'' and ``Every Little Step.''

In a recent interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, Brown said he smoked marijuana, but did so to control his bipolar condition. In the same interview, Houston acknowledged taking cocaine and pills and smoking marijuana.

NEWSFILE: 22 JANUARY 2003