From Caribbean360.com
CALIFORNIA, United States, Wednesday August 21, 2013 – R&B star Chris Brown was handed a new sentence to perform 1,000 hours of community labour when Superior Court Judge James Brandlin reinstated the singer’s revoked probation on Friday.
The sentence is the latest repercussion of Brown’s arrest four years ago for assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna on the eve of the 2009 Grammy weekend.
The Turn The Music Up singer now faces the music of 1,000 hours of chores such as cleaning beaches or highways, removing graffiti, or performing other tasks assigned by the probation department.
The 24-year-old star reportedly sat in a courtroom for about an hour while his attorney Mark Geragos and a prosecutor went back and forth to the judge’s chambers as Geragos apparently sought Brown’s approval for a plan to keep him from facing more serious consequences.
Judge Brandlin finally emerged from chambers and announced that an agreement had been reached under which Brown would have to perform 1,000 hours of community labour with one of four public programmes: California Department of Transportation highway cleanup, graffiti removal, beach cleanup or Probation Alternative Work Services.
The Grammy award-winning singer, who had waited in the courtroom with his mother and two other people, did not speak during the hearing, other than to agree to the deal.
Brown, who won the Grammy for Best R&B Album with F.A.M.E. two years ago, could ask the court to end his probation when he completes the community labour, but the final decision will rest with a judge.
The star has made frequent court appearances since pleading guilty to assaulting Rihanna in 2009. In addition to making reports on meeting the requirements of an earlier community labour order, he has had subsequent run-ins with the law for assault and traffic accidents.
The community work already done by Brown does not apply to the new sentence, said district attorney’s spokeswoman Jane Robison.
The singer has a year to perform the work and is scheduled to appear in court on November 20 for a progress report. .