R&B and Pop singer Chris Brown’s assault charge will stand as the judge rejects his lawyer’s request to drop the charge the afternoon of April 7th due to misconduct on the behalf of the prosecutors. Mark Geragos claimed that prosecutors abused the Grand Jury process to prepare for trial but Judge Patricia Wynn dismissed the claim. He says prosecutors used the grand jury to “freeze” the testimony of the alleged victim in the case. The singer and his bodyguard, Christopher Hollosy, are charged with hitting a man on the sidewalk in Washington, D.C, just blocks away from the White House.
The two allegedly punched 20-year-old Isaac Parker after he tried to get in a picture the singer was taking with two of the victim’s female friends. Parker suffered a fractured nose and injuries to his face and head. Although the charge is a misdemeanor and Chris Brown will unlikely face jail time, the singer remains behind bars because of his probation for an attack on ex-girlfriend Rihanna five years ago.
Judge Wynn concluded that prosecutors had the right to use the Grand Jury process to assess the strength of the case. “I am persuaded that there is no abuse”, Judge Wynn stated Monday after rejected the dismissal.
Chris Brown was originally ordered to stay in a court-mandated rehabilitation program but was turned over to the U.S. Marshals at the LA County Jail after failing to stay in the program. The judge allowed him to stay out of jail by entering a 90-day anger management and drug rehab program. Although he completed that program last month, the judge ordered him to remain a resident at the Malibu, California, treatment facility until another hearing April 23. Leaving before April 23 led to his subsequent arrest.
Chris Brown must now be transported through the prison transportation system and he is still on his way from Los Angeles to the nation’s capital. This is a cross-country journey that the U.S. Marshal’s office said could take one or two weeks.