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Orlando Brown John M. Heller/Getty Images

That's So Raven alum Orlando Brown has a pretty simple defense regarding last month's highly publicized DUI arrest.

He says he wasn't driving.

The actor-musician's manager, Reno Rankin, tells E! News that on the day of the Aug. 12 bust, Brown had just finished up recording a new song, "Hero," for an upcoming project. According to Rankin, Brown was at home where he consumed three glasses of wine, and then a female friend stopped by.

Here's what happened next...

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"He wanted to play the song for her and listen in the car," Rankin says. "He walked out to her car, sat in the driver's seat and popped in the CD. He wasn't going anywhere."

Unfortunately for Brown, his pal's vehicle only had temporary plates and a brake light was out, attracting the attention of a police unit cruising nearby.

"She didn't have tags, so [the officers] asked to see his license and registration. He told the officers that he had a bit to drink, but he wasn't driving anywhere because he had been drinking," notes the manager.

As courteous as the former Disney star was, it didn't do him much good. The cops saw the key in the ignition and promptly asked him to step out.

"They gave him a sobriety test and that's when they arrested him," Rankin adds.

Brown was subsequently booked on suspicion of DUI and posted bail soon afterwards.

The negative publicity isn't doing much harm to Brown's reputation however.

As a national ambassador for the American Humane Association, Brown is currently in New York City for the organization's 10th Anniversary Tribute to the Hero Dogs of 9/11, and the AHA has been supportive since his arrest. It's easy to see why: Brown rescued 74 animals in Ventura County, Calif. from being euthanized recently.

"The AHA stood by them," Rankin tells E! News. "I called the [AHA] president, they said we are behind Orlando 110 percent. He's 23…things happen. He apologized to his fans."

Brown's due back in court later this month.

UPDATE: A warrant was issued for Brown's arrest after he failed to provide proof to the court he had enrolled in an alcohol-education program, one of the condition's of his probation. The issue was ultimately sorted out, but the L.A. City Attorney's Office confirmed to E! News on June 4, 2012, that Brown owes $1,908 in penalties and fees.

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