The 'Apt Pupil' star learned his lesson for buying fake heroin

Despite pleading not guilty of attempted heroin possession earlier, actor Brad Renfro has decided to take responsibility for his actions.

The 23-year-old "Apt Pupil" star changed his tune and plea Thursday (Feb. 23), owning up to trying to buy heroin in a drug sting that led to his arrest in December. The plea bargain earned him three years of probation and a mandatory drug rehab program, report news sources.

He was one of 14 people arrested who encountered cops posing as pushers with balloons of fake heroin in downtown LA on Dec. 22. He is currently free on $10,000 bail pending a court appearance March 6 to begin the rehab program. If he violates his probation, he faces up to 18 months in jail. Renfro is currently undergoing voluntary drug treatment.

He has a history of run-ins with the law including: a 1998 arrest on cocaine and marijuana charges for which he struck a plea bargain, probation for attempted theft of a yacht in 2000, an arrest for underage drinking a year later and a 2002 bust for public intoxication and driving without a license.

Renfro first broke out in 1994's "The Client" and went on to lead roles in "Apt Pupil," "Bully" and "Telling Lies in America." He was most recently seen in a supporting part in "The Jacket."