Judge Gives Chris Brown 131 More Days in County Jail

R&B singer Chris Brown today admitted violating his probation as a result of an East Coast arrest and was ordered by a Los Angeles judge to serve an additional 131 days in county jail, but his attorney said he expects the entertainer will be out of custody as soon as this weekend.

Superior Court Judge James R. Brandlin imposed a 365-day term, but gave Brown credit for 234 days already served in custody or in various programs. He also reinstated Brown's probation, which will run through next January.

Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos, told reporters that he expects his client "should be released shortly" from jail -- potentially by this weekend or Monday -- given the amount of credit he has for time already served.

"Obviously we're gratified that he was not sentenced to prison," Geragos said.

Brown, who turned 25 on Monday, admitted violating his probation stemming from his 2009 assault of then-girlfriend Rihanna.

In reinstating Brown's probation, the judge ordered the singer to undergo random testing for drugs at least three times a week and barred him from using medical marijuana.

Brown was arrested March 14 after he was tossed out of a Malibu substance-abuse and anger-management facility, where he had been for about four months. Brandlin previously said the singer made troubling remarks during a group therapy session, discussing his use of guns and knives.

The singer is accused in Washington, D.C., of punching a 20-year-old man who was trying to get a photo with him last October. He had been transferred to Washington, D.C., in April, but proceedings in that case were delayed, prompting his return to Los Angeles.

Geragos said he believes Brown's admission that he violated probation would lead to a resolution of the case in Washington, D.C.

Brown pleaded guilty in June 2009 to assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury for assaulting Rihanna during an argument that began about 12:30 a.m. Feb. 8, 2009, while the singers were in a rented Lamborghini in Hancock Park after attending a pre-Grammy Awards party.

Brown was sentenced to five years probation, a yearlong domestic violence program -- which he completed -- and 180 days of community labor.

Brown's probation was first revoked last summer after he was charged with a pair of misdemeanors and an infraction stemming from a May 21 traffic crash in Toluca Lake. Those charges have since been dismissed, despite a city prosecutor's objection to a "civil compromise" in which attorneys said no money was exchanged between the parties.

His probation was reinstated last August, when Brandlin ordered the singer to perform an additional 1,000 hours of community labor.

Another progress report hearing for Brown is scheduled Aug. 13.

--City News Service