Chris Brown Rejects Assault Charge Plea Deal
Chris Brown is rejecting a plea deal in his assault case stemming from an alleged Washington D.C. fight last year because his lawyers believe they can prove he is not guilty.
Last October Brown was accused of assaulting one man who wanted his picture while the 24-year-old singer was visiting the capital city to perform. The singer and his bodyguard Christopher Hollosy reportedly got into an altercation in front of the W Hotel in the city.
While law enforcement sources reportedly told TMZ that Brown punched the man in the nose when he tried to join in on a picture that the singer was taking with two women, Brown's attorneys insist he is innocent and rejected a plea deal Wednesday.
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Although the prosecutors in the case said they have surveillance video proving Brown's involvement in the reported fight, the singer's attorney Mark Geragos said the plea deal was rejected because his client was innocent.
"It was rejected because he's not guilty," Geragos told The New York Daily News. "I've seen everything I need to see in this case, so absent prosecutors turning over video footage of [Brown] doing it, there's little or no chance of any plea deal."
Although all parties involved are scheduled to return to court on Feb 20 to receive a tentative trial date, Brown's lawyer is working to make sure his client will not have to be present since he is serving a stint in a rehabilitation facility.
"My client is presently in a residential program and loses three days of treatment just doing the traveling," Geragos told the judge, according to The Daily News.
Last year, sources close to the singer insist that the alleged victim tried to sneak on the entertainer's tour bus. Brown's team says he was using self-defense to stop the man from trespassing. If convicted of the allegations, Brown could face up to 180 days in jail with more time added on if a California court deems it a probation violation stemming from his 2009 assault on ex-girlfriend Rihanna.
