Chris Brown appeared in court yesterday to respond to a motion filed by the L.A. County District Attorney Tuesday, which seeks to revoke the singer’s probation for assaulting Rihanna in 2009. Brown, 23, is being accused of falsifying his community service records from Virginia, among other infractions, in the state’s bid to revoke his probation. Chris’ attorney Mark Geragos accused prosecutors of conducting their own “fraudulent” investigation into the matter, according to The L.A. Times today. Brown also had support in the courtroom from the victim herself, 24 year-old girlfriend Rihanna, who sat in the front row during the proceeding blowing kisses his way and tweeting out an inspirational message of support for all to see.
At the time Brown’s community service records were submitted to the court in November, the judge launched an investigation into their validity. Many of the hours of service were reportedly performed at Tappahannock Children's Center, where his mom was once a director.
The inquiry found no, “credible, competent or verifiable evidence”, that Chris Brown performed the 180 days of community service, a condition of his probation, according to The Hollywood Gossip.
Deputy D.A. Mary A. Murray alleges there's no way Chris could have performed community service on some of the days he listed because he was out of the country giving concerts. In one example, Brown was allegedly on a private jet to Cancun at the time he reported working.
Attorney Mark Geragos argued yesterday that there were numerous examples of Virginia officials witnessing Chris Brown carrying out his court-ordered manual labor. Not alluding to the children’s center, he pointed out Chris shredding documents at the Richmond Police Department and cleaning the agency's stables.
Brown was sentenced to five years probation after pleading guilty to a felony count of assault in connection with the infamous 2009 attack on girlfriend Rihanna. Part of his probation required Chris to perform 180 days of community labor in Virginia.
The motion filed Tuesday by D.A. Murray said an investigation into Brown's community service found, “significant discrepancies indicating at best sloppy documentation and at worst fraudulent reporting”. She asked a judge to order Chris to redo his court-ordered labor in Los Angeles County, instead of in Virginia, where he claims his primary residence.
“Exactly what the D.A. claimed is absolutely false - and I don't mean false, I mean fraudulent”, Geragos said at a news conference after Brown’s Wednesday court appearance in L.A.. “This motion, frankly, was a travesty”, he exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Brown had another big supporter in court with him besides his high powered attorney, according to Hollywood Life. The victim herself Rihanna was in his corner for the proceedings.
Of course, it’s not uncommon for the victims of domestic violence to turn and support their abusers. But Rihanna hadn't done so as publicly until now, given they've basically made it known they're a couple again.
After spending the night before together, Chris and Rihanna left his house and headed to court together. They walked into the courtroom together, where Rihanna was seen blowing Chris a kiss. After the proceedings, they exited the courtroom arm-in-arm.
Later, Rihanna took to Twitter posting, “@TheGodLight: When it seems like the world is against you, remember that God is behind your every positive loving thought.’#nevaforget”.
The judge ordered Chris Brown to report to his probation officer within 48 hours of yesterday’s proceedings, and provide any additional documentation related to his community service in Virginia.
He also asked the L.A. County's probation department to report back to the court about how much labor Brown had done, and scheduled the next hearing on this matter for April 5.
District Attorney officials declined to comment on Mark Geragos' comments outside the courtroom yesterday.
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