Chris Brown admits violating probation, could be out of jail soon
:
Brown, 25, wore an orange
jail jumpsuit and handcuffs, but he appeared to be smiling as he was
led into court in Los Angeles by deputies Friday afternoon.
The singer has been in
custody for two months and in court-ordered rehab five months before
that while awaiting a probation revocation trial. But with that trial on
hold because of a delay in his D.C. assault case, Brown lawyer Mark
Geragos decided it would be better to settle the case sooner and not
later.
Los Angeles County
Superior Court Judge James Brandlin immediately sentenced Brown to serve
365 days in jail for the admitted probation violation. He was given
credit for serving 234 days because of the rehab and jail time, leaving
131 days left to serve.
But Brown's lawyer told CNN that he expects Brown to be released from custody by the county sheriff within the next week.
"I would expect that
Chris should be out of jail before the weekend's up or before Monday,"
Geragos said after the hearing. "If he isn't out by Monday, then I would
expect he's getting special treatment. He's got over 230 days credit on
a 365 (day sentence) and generally the sheriff is releasing on a lot
less than that."
Brown's probation for the
2009 beating of ex-girlfriend Rihanna was revoked after his arrest in
connection to a misdemeanor assault charge out of Washington
Friday's admission in Los
Angeles that he violated his probation by committing a crime in
Washington should lead to a quick resolution of the District of Columbia
assault case, Geragos said.
Brown still must complete
about 700 hours of community labor at a rate of three days a week once
he is released from jail. Geragos, however, said Brown has "enjoyed" the
work because it is "at a facility that has allowed to him to kind of
expand his horizons."
His probation office calculated that his probation, which began in August 2009, should end on January 23, 2015.
Until then, he must
attend several anger management and family counseling sessions each week
and submit to random drug tests the judge said.
Friday's resolution is a relief for Brown after languishing in jail for the past two months, his lawyer said.
"We're gratified that he
was not sentenced to state prison, gratified that he's still on
probation," Geragos said. "I think that Chris has learned quite a bit
through this experience and I'm anxious to see how he does, as I think
everybody else is."
