Chris Brown probation revoked in Rihanna assault case

A judge revoked Chris Brown's probation on Thursday but allowed him to remain free for now after the R&B singer travelled without approval for a concert and failed to complete community service on time.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James R. Brandlin said Brown can remain free at least until a March 20 hearing when the judge will receive an update from probation officials.

Brown was ordered by those officials in December not to leave Los Angeles County without permission. However, the Grammy-winning singer performed at a nightclub in San Jose on Jan. 11 without obtaining permission to travel.

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A shooting at the club injured five people, but there were no indications that Brown was involved in the attack. Still, Brandlin ordered probation officials to investigate the shooting and whether there were any issues involving Brown.

Defence attorney Mark Geragos told Brandlin that his office incorrectly advised Brown that he didn't need permission to travel for the show.

The judge said he accepted Geragos' explanation, but needed to revoke the singer's probation to keep control of the case. Brandlin also said it was not unexpected that Brown failed to complete his community service on time.

Brown was supposed to complete 1,000 hours of community labour by the end of January but has roughly 200 hours left, Brandlin said.

Brown making steady progress

Brown has been on probation for his 2009 attack on pop singer Rihanna, his girlfriend at the time. He was required to complete the community service before the end of January.

Brown appeared in court Thursday with his mother and girlfriend. All three looked sombre before the start of the hearing, with Brown spending much of his time with his eyes closed and head down.

The judge said Brown had been making steady progress on the community service aspect of his sentence that requires him to perform manual work such as roadside cleanup or graffiti removal.

The singer avoided probation problems until 2013, when prosecutors questioned whether he completed the terms of his community labour in Virginia as required. Brandlin briefly revoked Brown's probation after he was charged with hit-and-run after an accident. That case was eventually dismissed.

In another case in October 2013, Brown struck a man outside a Washington, D.C., hotel and was charged with misdemeanour assault. Brandlin ordered Brown into rehab, but the singer was expelled from the program in March 2014.

He spent two-and-a-half months in custody before being released in June.