Chris Brown to stay in rehab instead of going to jail

Image source, Reuters

A judge has turned down calls to send Chris Brown to jail.

Superior Court Judge James R. Brandlin denied a prosecution request in an assault case involving the singer, citing the R&B star's good behaviour and progress in rehabilitation.

Brown was sentenced to three months of in-patient rehab in November.

It was after he was arrested and charged in connection with a fight allegedly involving Brown and a bodyguard in Washington DC.

The singer agreed to the terms of the rehab conditions, which were suggested by probation officers overseeing his sentence for an attack on his ex-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.

Prosecutor, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Mary Murray, wanted Brown to be given a jail sentence during Monday's hearing and called for a full probation violation hearing, which would have resulted in evidence about the DC case being presented to Judge Brandlin.

Image source, Getty Images

"He continues to pose an increasingly violent danger to society," wrote Murray, citing the DC case and an incident in which Brown threw a brick through his mother's car window after a therapy session in November after she suggested he needed to remain in treatment.

Murray said she made the motion because she had information about the man whose nose was allegedly broken in the attack, which is said to have involved Brown and his bodyguard.

Brown's lawyer Mark Geragos argued that the only recent changes in Brown's behaviour were positive and the court should wait to see how the DC case was resolved before having an evidentiary hearing.

Brown's lawyers say the singer is not guilty and that he has rejected a plea deal.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Chris Brown is on probation for attacking Rihanna before the 2009 Grammys

The case is due back in court on 28 February and Judge Brandlin has ordered him to update him on his progress.

He said the singer had completed 191 of 1,000 hours of community service that were ordered after Brandlin found the Grammy winner had violated his probation after failing to exchange information properly after a car crash last year.

He said probation officials reported that Brown "appears to have a more serious and responsible demeanour" since checking into rehab.

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