Rihanna Supports Chris Brown in Court
Nearly four years to the day that he famously assaulted then girlfriend Rihanna on the way to the 2009 Grammy Awards, Chris Brown showed up to court today with the singer on his arm. Brown was in Superior Court Judge James Brandlin's courtroom today responding to a motion brought by the Los Angeles District Attorney, which alleges that he lied about completing his mandated hours of community service for the incident.
Rihanna sat in the observation gallery with Brown's mother, Joyce Hawkins, as his lawyer disputed the validity of the charges leveled against his client, who has denied any wrong doing.
After months of judicial praise aimed at the singer for satisfying the terms of his probation, prosecutors say a flurry of completed hours in a short period of time pushed them to investigate.
"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 in the motion.
According to the Associated Press, Murray believes that there was either sloppy record keeping or outright fraud in the reporting of Brown's hours, and wants him to complete 180 days of service in her jurisdiction. And a motion filed earlier today says that the court fears Brown has lingering anger management issues, and cites his January 27 fight with singer Frank Ocean and his infamous 2011 Good Morning America visit as proof.
Judge Brandlin did not revoke Brown's probation, but asked for more information from both sides and scheduled another hearing two months from now.
However, Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos would not be soothed. In a press conference at his office following the hearing, he lambasted the D.A.'s office. "This motion frankly was a travesty," he said. "When we get done with them, I plan on asking for not only sanctions, but an order to show cause hearing as to why the deputies who are connected with it shouldn’t be found in contempt of court for filing false documents with the court."
Geragos thinks the D.A. is grasping at straws. "The D.A. is paralyzed with the thought his probation will be terminated. If that happens they won't be able to jock him around like they've been jocking him around," he says.
Brown and Rihanna left the courtroom arm in arm. Both are nominated for Grammy Awards, and the Bajan beauty is slated to perform at this Sunday's ceremony.
BET.com is your #1 source for Black celebrity news, photos, exclusive videos and all the latest in the world of hip hop and R&B music.
Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.