Chris Brown and bodyguard Christopher Hollosy were released without bail yesterday afternoon after spending almost two days in jail for a weekend brawl in Washington, D.C.
According to the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, the embattled R&B singer, 24, and Hollosy, 35, were facing felony assault charges stemming from the physical attack of a man in downtown D.C. early on Sunday.
Bound with leg irons and handcuffs, Brown and Hollosy entered a packed courtroom in D.C. Superior Court. There were so many visitor pouring into the courtroom to witness the arraignment that Brown's very own mother and brother were stuck in line for a while. Some visitors, unable to enter the courtroom, made do with snapping pictures of the lockup list pasted on the wall.
Once inside the courtroom, District prosecuters lowered the charges to simple misdemeanor assault, and both men were let go. The reduced charge carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a fine of $1,000. Brown and Hollosy are due back in court on Nov. 25.
For Chris Brown in particular, the judge ordered him to report to his probation officer in California within 24 hours after his release. He is still on probation for his felony domestic violence conviction as a result of his 2009 assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna.
The singer was also ordered to keep at least 100 yards away from the man he is accused of assaulting. For his part, Brown denies ever hitting the victim, identified in the police report as Isaac Adams Parker, 20, of Beltsville, MD.
According to Brown's lawyer, Danny Onorato, Chris Brown "committed no crime."
"We understand that his security acted to protect Mr. Brown and his property, as he is authorized to do under District of Columbia law," the attorney said to an army of reporters after the hearing.
According to the police report, the assault occurred at 4:25 a.m. outside the W Hotel at the 500 block of 15th Street NW, where Brown posed for a picture with two female fans. Parker told the police that he tried to jump in, but Brown responded with the words, "I'm not down with that gay s--t" and "I feel like boxing," before following through with a fist to his face.
Parker said that it was then Brown's bodyguard Hollosy, a 6-foot-5 man with a weight of 240 pounds, stepped in and punched him, too.
Brown and his bodyguard were taken into custody at the Second District police station, where they spent the next 36 hours. Meanwhile, Parker was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of a swollen and bruised face.
Brown had come to D.C. for Howard University Homecoming 2013. He was only a few blocks away from The Park at Fourteen nightclub, where he had partied the previous night.
For the R&B star, this incident is the latest addition to a list of legal issues that has grown longer since his infamous beating of Rihanna on the eve of the 2009 Grammy Awards. Earlier this year he was accused of a hit-and-run in an L.A. traffic crash. Brown is due in Los Angeles County Superior Court for a probation status hearing, five days before he reports back to D.C.
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