Chris Brown Returns to Court for Probation Issues
Chris Brown is set to return to court Wednesday to face a prosecutor who is asking a judge to revoke the singer's probation because investigators say they could not find credible evidence he completed his community labor sentence for the 2009 beating of Rihanna.
A motion filed Tuesday raises for the first time in Brown's felony assault case several incidents that prosecutors say demonstrate Brown has continuing anger management issues.
They cited a Jan. 27 fight between Brown and fellow R&B star Frank Ocean, and a 2011 outburst in which Brown threw a chair through a window after he was asked about the Rihanna attack on "Good Morning America."
The filing represents a dramatic shift in the case against Brown, who was repeatedly praised by the judge overseeing his case for his completion of domestic violence courses and his community service work in his home state of Virginia. That changed in September, when prosecutors raised concerns about Brown's community service after he logged 701 hours in seven months — an amount that had previously taken him more than two years to achieve.
Los Angeles investigators traveled to Richmond, Virginia, to investigate Brown's service.
"This inquiry provided no credible, competent or verifiable evidence that defendant Brown performed his community labor as presented to this court," Deputy District Attorney Mary Murray wrote.
Brown's attorney Mark Geragos blasted the court filing, saying prosecutor ignored interviews "where sworn peace officers stated unequivocally that Mr. Brown was supervised and did all of the community service."
After pleading guilty to the attack on Rihanna, Brown was given permission to serve 180 days of community labor in his home state of Virginia, so long as he performed manual labor.
Given problems with documentation and statements from some witnesses who contradict Brown's claims of work, prosecutors asked Brandlin to order Brown to repeat his service in Los Angeles.
Brown spent one-third of the hours he logged in Virginia working night shifts at a day care center in rural Virginia where his mother once served as director and where the singer spent time as a child.
A detective who checked on Brown's work nine times at the Tappahannock Children's Center found the singer, his mother and a bodyguard at the center on each visit. The records said Brown waxed floors or performed "general cleaning" at the center.
A professional floor cleaner contracted to work at the daycare center told investigators he, not Brown, had been cleaning the floors during the months Brown reported working at the facility.
Source: Associated Press
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/70909 |