Chris Brown in outpatient rehab, completing community service
Chris Brown is continuing his rehab program as an outpatient.
A little more than two weeks after checking into an undisclosed facility in Malibu, Brown has opted to continue treatment outside the confines of a facility and is also completing his court-ordered community service in L.A., a rep for the singer told The Times on Thursday.
Brown elected to seek treatment, reportedly for anger-management issues, after a fracas in Washington, D.C., landed him -- and his bodyguard -- behind bars in late October.
“His goal is to gain focus and insight into his past and recent behavior, enabling him to continue the pursuit of his life and his career from a healthier vantage point,†his rep said in the statement announcing his decision. No specific details were given on what he would be treated for, or where, and reports said he was prepared to spend up to three months in a facility.
The polarizing Grammy-winning R&B singer recently had a felony assault charge reduced to a misdemeanor after a scuffle in front of a D.C. hotel. He pleaded not guilty when he appeared before a judge at D.C. Superior Court following the weekend altercation, and was released on his own recognizance. He faces up to 180 days and a $1,000 fine if convicted.
Brown is still on five years’ probation in Los Angeles County from the 2009 assault case involving his then-girlfriend Rihanna. If he is found to have violated probation, he could be sentenced to serve up to four years in jail.
While he’s been at the center of a myriad of controversies -- a nightclub blowout with Drake, a parking lot tussle with Frank Ocean, frequent Twitter spats, numerous accusations of bad boy behavior – he had largely kept his nose clean with the law since the 2009 incident.
But earlier this year that changed. Prosecutors in L.A. accused him of failing to perform his community labor sentence as instructed. A judge also revoked Brown’s probation briefly after a hit-and-run incident, also earlier this year. He was also given 1,000 additional hours of community service to perform.
Brown is due back in an L.A. court on Nov. 20 for a probation hearing, and then in a D.C. court on Nov. 25 for a hearing related to the assault.
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