Chris Brown to be sentenced for assault

[samanthajane13]

By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney, Ap Entertainment Writer – 2 hrs 40 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Chris Brown has pleaded guilty and publicly apologized for beating Rihanna, but after Wednesday afternoon, plenty more hard work lies ahead.

The 20-year-old R&B singer is scheduled to be sentenced to five years of probation and six months of community labor. A judge has said she wants Brown, who will likely be allowed to serve his probation in his home state of Virginia, to do work that is comparable to graffiti removal or roadside cleanup.

The "Run It!" singer pleaded guilty in late June to felony assault before a preliminary hearing in which Rihanna was likely to testify.

The former couple never faced each other at that hearing. As Brown left through one door, Rihanna entered the courtroom from a private entrance.

Donald Etra, Rihanna's attorney, said Tuesday that the 21-year-old singer would not appear in court for Brown's sentencing. Etra said he would ask Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg to rescind a restraining order that keeps the pair from talking or meeting one another.

Etra said he would ask that it be replaced by an order that prohibits Brown from harassing, annoying or molesting Rihanna.

Brown said in a public apology video posted on his Web site July 20 that he had repeatedly apologized to Rihanna for the attack. He called his conduct "inexcusable" and pledged to do better.

"I saw firsthand what uncontrolled rage can do," he tells viewers. "I have sought and am continuing to seek help to ensure that what occurred in February can never happen again."

Schnegg will consider a report by probation officials and has warned Brown that he will face substantial scrutiny. She told him in June that he'll have to return to California every three months and attend domestic violence counseling.

Brown was arrested Feb. 8, hours after an early morning fight erupted between the singer and his then-girlfriend in a car in Los Angeles' Hancock Park neighborhood. A search warrant affidavit filed by police described the brutal attack, stating that Brown beat, choked and bit Rihanna and tried to push her out of the car.

The beating occurred hours before the pair were scheduled to appear at the Grammy Awards, and both have been forced to cancel several high-profile appearances since then.

Brown's career has suffered, with radio stations refusing to play his music and sponsors dropping him.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090805/ap_on_en_mu/us_people_chris_brown_6

[samanthajane13]

Chris Brown sentenced in Rihanna assault case
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney, Ap Entertainment Writer – 6 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – A judge on Tuesday sentenced Chris Brown to five years' probation and six months' community labor for the beating of Rihanna and ordered the R&B singer to stay away from his former girlfriend for the next five years.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg told Brown that he could be sent to state prison if he violated any terms of his sentence, including an order to stay 100 yards away from Rihanna unless they're attending music industry events.

A probation report prepared for Tuesday's sentencing describes two previous violent incidents. It said the first happened about three months before the February beating while the couple was traveling in Europe; Rihanna slapped Brown during an argument, and he shoved her into a wall. In the second instance, Brown allegedly broke the front and passenger side windows on a Range Rover they were driving while visiting Barbados, Rihanna's home country. Neither attack was reported, the probation report states.

Brown will serve his sentence in his home state — Virginia — and his community labor will be overseen by the police chief in Richmond.

The judge said she wanted to ensure that Brown, 20, performs physical labor instead of community service, such as mentoring young people. He will also undergo a year of domestic violence counseling.

Rihanna did not attend Tuesday's sentencing.

At one point, Brown, who was accompanied by his mother, agreed to the terms of the sentence before Schnegg had finished going through them all.

The hearing had been planned for Thursday afternoon, but Brown's lawyer, Mark Geragos, asked to move up the singer's sentencing to Tuesday. A previous attempt to sentence Brown was postponed when Schnegg said she hadn't received adequate assurances that Brown would perform physical labor if allowed to serve probation in Virginia.

The judge said she was satisfied with a letter presented by Geragos that Richmond Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood will directly oversee Brown's labor program.

After Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault in June, Schnegg ordered the pair to stay away from each other and to not contact one another. Her order Tuesday essentially extended that until Brown completes his sentence.

Donald Etra, Rihanna's attorney, has said he didn't think the strict rules were necessary, but that he and Rihanna favored a less-stringent ruling that simply ordered Brown not to annoy, harass or molest the 21-year-old pop singer. He said after Tuesday's hearing that Rihanna did not object to the stay-away order, which allows the former couple to be within 10 yards of each other if they are attending music industry events.

Schnegg said she was aware of reports that Brown had been spotted on several occasions in the same places as Rihanna.

"I am not amused with the chatter that has been on the airwaves and any violation of your probation in this case comes with the potential for state prison," Schnegg told Brown.

A felony charge of making criminal threats was dropped during Tuesday's sentencing.

"We feel that the sentence for Mr. Brown is an equitable one," said Sandi Gibbons, a district attorney's spokeswoman. "He has his future in his hands. He has control of his fate."

Gibbons said Brown's charge could eventually be reduced to a misdemeanor if he completes his sentence.

Brown was arrested Feb. 8, hours after he was accused of beating Rihanna.

The attack occurred in Los Angeles' Hancock Park neighborhood as Brown drove a rented sports car. A Los Angeles police detective described a brutal attack in a search warrant affidavit filed in the case, stating Brown hit, choked and bit Rihanna and tried at one point to push her from the car.

Brown's career suffered after his arrest, with sponsors dropping him and radio stations refusing to play his music. Both he and Rihanna had to cancel several high-profile appearances, including planned performances at the Grammy Awards the day of the attack.

In a probation report released after the sentencing, Brown is quoted as saying he was "depressed" since the attack and that he "'does not want to carry on that cycle.'"

The report included letters of support for Brown from RCA/Jive Label Group Chairman Barry Weiss as well as an entertainment lawyer and a pastor.

___

Associated Press Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090825/ap_en_ce/us_people_chris_brown

[SaraSidle]

Chris Brown sentenced in Rihanna assault case
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney, Ap Entertainment Writer – 6 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – A judge on Tuesday sentenced Chris Brown to five years' probation and six months' community labor for the beating of Rihanna and ordered the R&B singer to stay away from his former girlfriend for the next five years.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg told Brown that he could be sent to state prison if he violated any terms of his sentence, including an order to stay 100 yards away from Rihanna unless they're attending music industry events.

A probation report prepared for Tuesday's sentencing describes two previous violent incidents. It said the first happened about three months before the February beating while the couple was traveling in Europe; Rihanna slapped Brown during an argument, and he shoved her into a wall. In the second instance, Brown allegedly broke the front and passenger side windows on a Range Rover they were driving while visiting Barbados, Rihanna's home country. Neither attack was reported, the probation report states.

Brown will serve his sentence in his home state — Virginia — and his community labor will be overseen by the police chief in Richmond.

The judge said she wanted to ensure that Brown, 20, performs physical labor instead of community service, such as mentoring young people. He will also undergo a year of domestic violence counseling.

Rihanna did not attend Tuesday's sentencing.

At one point, Brown, who was accompanied by his mother, agreed to the terms of the sentence before Schnegg had finished going through them all.

The hearing had been planned for Thursday afternoon, but Brown's lawyer, Mark Geragos, asked to move up the singer's sentencing to Tuesday. A previous attempt to sentence Brown was postponed when Schnegg said she hadn't received adequate assurances that Brown would perform physical labor if allowed to serve probation in Virginia.

The judge said she was satisfied with a letter presented by Geragos that Richmond Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood will directly oversee Brown's labor program.

After Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault in June, Schnegg ordered the pair to stay away from each other and to not contact one another. Her order Tuesday essentially extended that until Brown completes his sentence.

Donald Etra, Rihanna's attorney, has said he didn't think the strict rules were necessary, but that he and Rihanna favored a less-stringent ruling that simply ordered Brown not to annoy, harass or molest the 21-year-old pop singer. He said after Tuesday's hearing that Rihanna did not object to the stay-away order, which allows the former couple to be within 10 yards of each other if they are attending music industry events.

Schnegg said she was aware of reports that Brown had been spotted on several occasions in the same places as Rihanna.

"I am not amused with the chatter that has been on the airwaves and any violation of your probation in this case comes with the potential for state prison," Schnegg told Brown.

A felony charge of making criminal threats was dropped during Tuesday's sentencing.

"We feel that the sentence for Mr. Brown is an equitable one," said Sandi Gibbons, a district attorney's spokeswoman. "He has his future in his hands. He has control of his fate."

Gibbons said Brown's charge could eventually be reduced to a misdemeanor if he completes his sentence.

Brown was arrested Feb. 8, hours after he was accused of beating Rihanna.

The attack occurred in Los Angeles' Hancock Park neighborhood as Brown drove a rented sports car. A Los Angeles police detective described a brutal attack in a search warrant affidavit filed in the case, stating Brown hit, choked and bit Rihanna and tried at one point to push her from the car.

Brown's career suffered after his arrest, with sponsors dropping him and radio stations refusing to play his music. Both he and Rihanna had to cancel several high-profile appearances, including planned performances at the Grammy Awards the day of the attack.

In a probation report released after the sentencing, Brown is quoted as saying he was "depressed" since the attack and that he "'does not want to carry on that cycle.'"

The report included letters of support for Brown from RCA/Jive Label Group Chairman Barry Weiss as well as an entertainment lawyer and a pastor.

___

Associated Press Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090825/ap_en_ce/us_people_chris_brown

Jail time would have been smart!!!!!!!!!!! IMO sara

[wind149]

Cone on, is anyone surprised he did not go to jail?? He is a "star" don't ya know?? IMO he is a low life as he beat that beautiful woman to an inch of her life because he is a control freak who thought he was losing control over her and scum like this will continue to do beat women till he kills one and he just got a pass to do so, Rhianna will not be his first victim, he will do this to another woman and because he is "talented" and "valuable" he walked out of that courtroom looking all smug and fly and I had hoped someone would beat the crap out of him right then!! I can only imagine in private, Rhianna feels betrayed by the very system that is supposed to protect women from scumbag abusers like him because I know how she feels first hand and it is not a good place to be. And I am willing to bet that right now, he is whooping it up in some club with all his "homies" slapping five and jive and thinking he can do this again and get a pass because in his low life mind this is a victory and a message to women that he digs, that you step out on me or don't kiss my "talented" ass that this is what you will get and this kind always has women thinking he is the MAN, draping themselves all over him and he to me is a low life pimpdaddy and women need to run from him instead of to him!!!

My ex I am willing to bet is divorced again because he nailed his 5th wife,, why not he nailed the rest of us and he too has the same "tude" and control freak mind-set and someday he will kill a woman, it is not if but when and this scumbag will do it again too, that I am sure of and 6 months probation for beating her face in is a joke!!! The judges are out there in Hollyweird are all "star struck" and probably afraid they won't have a job for sentencing scum like him to jail because he is so "valuable" to the music industry and if people would not buy any of his records or the other trashy rappers, then these people would just be thugs like most of them are anyway. Diddy thinks he is God and he is a joke and he can't sing a tune, but raps about gangs and violence and young people eat this up!! Ya got Sick Vick murdering dogs and he gets his career back and gets to run his crap spin to the same young people and inner city kids think dog fighting is FLY!!

And then there is that one NFL player who was cocked out of his mind and crashed into a car and killed an innocent person and he gets THIRTY FREAKING DAYS IN JAIL WHEN HE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THIRTY YEARS!!! Now he is suspended, but you watch, he too will get his career back too!! It just galls me because if this was some Joe Blow white boy, he would have gotten at least 5 years for beating a woman half to death, he would be doing that 30 years for vehicular homicide and that asswipe too, spins to the media how sorry he is too?? MY ASS! None of these losers are sorry, and especially since they serve no jail time or 33 minutes behind bars, how is this punishment??? And what kind of community is Brown going to do? Go to a woman's crisis center and hang his head and say how sorry he was to do what he did to Rhianna??? I am betting he will not be cleaning public toilets or mowing lawns???? I picture him going to a jail and telling his homies to not leave any marks when they whoop on the little woman? And don't take no sass, a woman runs her mouth, you crack her till she begs for mercy???

[Marian Paroo]

Feh!