Brown, who came along with his mother, his high-profile defense lawyer Mark Geragos, and an entourage of supporters, entered the plea deal prior to the start of a preliminary hearing on numerous assault charges stemming from a Feb 8 incident in which he stands accused of beating up Rihanna, the night before the annual Grammy music awards show.
Brown’s last minute deal with prosecutors
The 21-year-old Brown entered the plea before a preliminary hearing that was scheduled to start in Los Angeles Monday, June 22, 2009, and at which Rihanna was due to give evidence.
The singer showed no emotion as Geragos told Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg of the plea deal with prosecutors, with the singer taking responsibility for his actions on Feb. 8.
Throughout the hearing, the singer of the hits "Run It" and "Kiss Kiss" spoke softly as he told the Judge he understood the gravity of his plea.
“I think it’s commendable you took responsibility for your conduct,” Schnegg told Brown.
As part of his plea bargain, Brown will spend five years of supervised probation and six months of community labor. The plea deal calls for him to attend courses on domestic violence in his home state of Virginia, according to Geragos.
Stay-away order for Brown as well as Rihanna
Judge Schnegg also imposed a stay-away order that requires Brown and Rihanna to stay at least 50 yards from each other, except at industry events, where the 50-yard stay-away would become a 10-yard order.
After Brown left the courtroom, Rihanna, wearing a black dress and dark sunglasses, entered to hear the guidelines of the order. The 21-year-old Barbados-born beauty is also forbidden from contacting her ex lover.
Rihanna's attorney, Donald Etra, said the judge told the "Disturbia" singer not to contact her onetime boyfriend in any fashion for five years. And, if she were to contact Brown, it would be a violation against him that could land him in slammer, the judge told her, according to Etra.
"Rihanna believes this is a fair and just resolution to this case," Etra told reporters gathered outside the courthouse following the hearing, adding that his client learned of the plea deal about an hour before the hearing was set to begin Monday afternoon.
Brown will be formally sentenced on Aug. 5.
About that assault incident
The deal puts an end to the highly publicized Chris Brown-Rihanna saga which began on the eve of their scheduled appearance at the Grammy Awards. The duo allegedly began fighting on the way home from the Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party on Feb. 8.
Brown, who dated Rihanna for a year until the assault incident in February, was later arrested on suspicion of assaulting and making criminal threats against Rihanna.
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