Misdemeanor charges stem from August parking lot incident

Singer Britney Spears was charged Friday with misdemeanor hit-and-run and driving a vehicle without a license, authorities said.

If convicted, she could face up to a year in jail.

According to prosecutors, on Aug. 6 Spears struck a vehicle in a parking lot on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, then drove away.

"The incident was captured on videotape," said Nick Velasquez, a spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney's office.

The Los Angeles Police Department investigated after the owner of the car made a complaint. Velasquez said an investigation confirmed the driver involved was the singer, and a subsequent check with the California Department of Motor Vehicles showed she has no California license.

Spears was sent a letter Friday informing her of the charges. She is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 10 in the Van Nuys branch of Los Angeles Superior Court. As the charges are misdemeanors, she won't be required to attend.

In a video of the incident, Spears' Mercedes-Benz convertible is seen grazing a Mercedes station wagon as the pop singer attempts to steer into an empty space. The video seems to show a small dog on Spears' lap. Afterward, Spears is seen apparently inspecting the vehicles.

The charges come three days after a Los Angeles County court commissioner said there was evidence that Spears was "a habitual, frequent and continuous" user of drugs and alcohol, and ordered mandatory, random twice-weekly drug tests.

Commissioner Scott M. Gordon, ruling in a dispute between Spears and her former husband, Kevin Federline, over custody of their two children, also said that the pop star must meet with a parenting coach.