Singer Chris Brown turned over to federal marshals for D.C. Trial

LOS ANGELES(Reuters).
R&B singer Chris Brown was taken
from his Los Angeles jail cell by
the U.S. Marshals Service and will
be transported to Washington,
D.C. for a hearing in a 2013
misdemeanor assault charge,
federal authorities said on
Thursday.

Brown, 24, was jailed last month
after violating his probation
when he was dismissed from a
facility where he was receiving
the court-ordered treatment
related to his 2009 assault of his
then-girlfriend, singer Rihanna.

He will be taken to Washington,
where he is scheduled to stand
trial on April 17, U.S. Marshals
Service spokeswoman Lynzey
Donahue said.
Brown's lawyer Mark Geragos
had asked the court to have
Brown released ahead of the
trial into his custody so that they
could prepare for the trial and
travel together to Washington.

A court hearing on the matter
was set for Thursday, but Los
Angeles County Superior Court
Judge James Brandlin canceled it
and issued a written decision
instead.
The judge said Brown's
attorneys have been visiting him
"on an almost daily basis" at the
Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles
to prepare for the D.C. trial, the
City News service reported.

Brandlin issued an eight-page
ruling on the matter, noting that
while the transfer may cause
"some inconvenience" to the
singer and his legal team, Brown
would not be deprived of his
right to counsel if transported
by federal authorities.
Brown faces a misdemeanor
assault charge in Washington
from an October 2013 incident
where he was accused of
allegedly punching a man who
was trying to get a picture with
him, breaking his nose.

The singer was sentenced by
Los Angeles County Superior
Court Judge James Brandlin to
90 days in a treatment program
following his altercation in
Washington.

Reference: Reuters