SAN DIEGO -- Former National City Police Chief Anthony DiCerchio pleaded guilty to two drunken driving charges and was sentenced to two days in jail, which he can serve doing community service.

Chula Vista police arrested DiCerchio on Oct. 9 after he hit a parked car, and then three weeks later after a convenience store clerk refused to sell him alcohol following the 2 a.m. cutoff, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

As the charges were misdemeanors, DiCerchio, 65, did not have to appear at the San Diego Superior Court hearing Wednesday. His defense lawyer entered a guilty plea on his behalf after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors, the newspaper reported.

Superior Court Commissioner Sandra Berry also ordered DiCerchio to perform 160 hours of volunteer work, pay $2,400 in fines and have an alcohol-testing machine installed in his car, according to the Union-Tribune.

He also has to avoid drinking during five years of probation and must attend meetings for alcohol counseling for one year.

The commissioner also suspended DiCerchio's license and sentenced him to 180 days in jail, while will not have to be served if he stays out of trouble, the newspaper reported.

DiCerchio had surgery for cancer of the mouth in November 2002 and was prescribed a drug that caused depression, he told the Union-Tribune.

"I just lost interest in family and friends," he told the newspaper. "I felt totally depressed all the time. And then, bingo, out of nowhere, I started drinking and I just threw away my career and my reputation."