Chris Brown is out of jail, after posting $250,000 bail, he's posting new music but he's given up posting ranting videos.
So what happens now that one of the music world's bad boys — he's already a convicted felon — is facing a new felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon? He was arrested Tuesday evening, hours after a woman accused him of threatening her with a gun in his San Fernando Valley home and detectives from the LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division waited hours to get a search warrant for the alleged firearm. Brown's first court date, according to Los Angeles County Jail records, will be Sept. 20 for arraignment.
Two days after Brown's latest arrest, here's what we know:
He deleted his videos
Brown has buttoned up and left the talking to his lawyer, famed TV legal pundit Mark Geragos. "The allegations against him are demonstrably false," tweeted the Twitter-active attorney early Wednesday.
Geragos has not returned calls to USA TODAY but on Thursday, he was quoted by the Los Angeles Times as calling the charge against Brown "fabricated." He added that the police did not find a firearm during their search of Brown's house. The police won't comment on what, if anything, was found.
Geragos' tweeted statement was posted on Brown's Instagram account — right where Brown posted three profanity-laden videos Tuesday, featuring himself railing against the LAPD and the media outside his house covering the police investigation with an army of reporters and a squadron of helicopters.
Brown said in the videos he was "innocent" although he didn't further specify. He denounced media reports that he was "barricaded" inside his house, complained about the helicopters flying overhead, and called the police "idiots" and "the worst gang in the world."
"All those videos can be used against him — they're voluntary statements and admissions," says criminal defense attorney (and former child actor) Troy Slaten, now a popular TV legal pundit in Los Angeles. "They're all fair game." Posting them was a mistake, Slaten says.
The videos were a "little belligerent," concedes Beverly Hills criminal defense lawyer Mark McBride, who's been following the case. But he says Brown was smart, or well-advised by Geragos, to demand police get a search warrant before letting them in his house.
"I think Chris played it perfectly — he was like a first-year law-school criminal procedure textbook," McBride said.
"He's a gifted artist and an amazing musician, a wonderful entertainer but he doesn't know how to comport himself in a legal situation," Slaten said. "He's acting like typical 27-year-old with more money than God."
Speaking of entertainment: On Wednesday, Brown posted a new song, What Would You Do?, to his SoundCloud account, tweeting, "MUSIC!!!!" and a link to the track.
What's at stakeSlaten says Brown could get up to 14 years in state prison (McBride estimates it might be closer to nine) if he's convicted of felony assault with a deadly weapon.
Police would not say whether they found one and if so whether it was Brown's gun. They don't have to say anything under California law, notes Slaten, pointing out that police reports and search warrant affidavits are confidential records under state law.
Since Brown is a convicted felon (after he pleaded guilty to beating his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009), he's not supposed to be in possession of a gun or ammunition under the state's strict laws. But police did not charge him with illegal possession.
"In California, it's even illegal (for felons) to go to a gun range and rent a gun," says Slaten.
"There must be some weakness in the police case, like, (Brown) didn’t know the gun was there," McBride speculated. (State law does permit felons to be in the presence of others in possession of guns.)
If prosecutors decide to proceed with a case against Brown, there would be discussions between the lawyers about a possible plea bargain, and failing that, the case would proceed to preliminary hearings and eventually a trial. If Brown were convicted, a judge could take into account his prior criminal history, Slaten says.
McBride thinks Geragos will try to get the case dismissed or diminished in the plea-bargain stage: "Mark is a very good negotiator," he said. "If he goes to trial, he might try to turn it into a 'frame-up' case."
In any case, he believes the current case against Brown does not compare to the case in which he pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna. "Factually, this is not nearly as serious — he really hurt her," McBride said. "Personally, I think this current case is a lot of baloney. This is going to go away in terms of the news cycle (compared to the Rihanna case)."
Child Custody Agreement
Brown shares custody of his 2-year-old daughter, Royalty with her mother, Nia Guzman.That much-litigated arrangement, which allows Brown unsupervised time with her up to a dozen days per month, could change now, along with the amount of child support he is paying.
Guzman's Houston lawyer, Carl Anthony Moore, says he's "contemplating" going back to court to ask for modifications, as soon as he sorts out the "conflicting reports" about what happened on Tuesday.
Who is Brown's accuser
Baylee Curran, 25, a dethroned Miss California Regional and sometime actress, outed herself as the accuser in multiple interviews with local media even as police waited to search Brown's house. According to her account, she was admiring some diamond jewelry during a visit to Brown's house when he and another man became angry. She says Brown pulled out a gun and pointed it at her, telling her to leave.
So what happens now that one of the music world's bad boys — he's already a convicted felon — is facing a new felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon? He was arrested Tuesday evening, hours after a woman accused him of threatening her with a gun in his San Fernando Valley home and detectives from the LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division waited hours to get a search warrant for the alleged firearm. Brown's first court date, according to Los Angeles County Jail records, will be Sept. 20 for arraignment.
Two days after Brown's latest arrest, here's what we know:
He deleted his videos
Brown has buttoned up and left the talking to his lawyer, famed TV legal pundit Mark Geragos. "The allegations against him are demonstrably false," tweeted the Twitter-active attorney early Wednesday.
Geragos has not returned calls to USA TODAY but on Thursday, he was quoted by the Los Angeles Times as calling the charge against Brown "fabricated." He added that the police did not find a firearm during their search of Brown's house. The police won't comment on what, if anything, was found.
Geragos' tweeted statement was posted on Brown's Instagram account — right where Brown posted three profanity-laden videos Tuesday, featuring himself railing against the LAPD and the media outside his house covering the police investigation with an army of reporters and a squadron of helicopters.
Brown said in the videos he was "innocent" although he didn't further specify. He denounced media reports that he was "barricaded" inside his house, complained about the helicopters flying overhead, and called the police "idiots" and "the worst gang in the world."
"All those videos can be used against him — they're voluntary statements and admissions," says criminal defense attorney (and former child actor) Troy Slaten, now a popular TV legal pundit in Los Angeles. "They're all fair game." Posting them was a mistake, Slaten says.
The videos were a "little belligerent," concedes Beverly Hills criminal defense lawyer Mark McBride, who's been following the case. But he says Brown was smart, or well-advised by Geragos, to demand police get a search warrant before letting them in his house.
"I think Chris played it perfectly — he was like a first-year law-school criminal procedure textbook," McBride said.
"He's a gifted artist and an amazing musician, a wonderful entertainer but he doesn't know how to comport himself in a legal situation," Slaten said. "He's acting like typical 27-year-old with more money than God."
Speaking of entertainment: On Wednesday, Brown posted a new song, What Would You Do?, to his SoundCloud account, tweeting, "MUSIC!!!!" and a link to the track.
What's at stakeSlaten says Brown could get up to 14 years in state prison (McBride estimates it might be closer to nine) if he's convicted of felony assault with a deadly weapon.
Police would not say whether they found one and if so whether it was Brown's gun. They don't have to say anything under California law, notes Slaten, pointing out that police reports and search warrant affidavits are confidential records under state law.
Since Brown is a convicted felon (after he pleaded guilty to beating his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009), he's not supposed to be in possession of a gun or ammunition under the state's strict laws. But police did not charge him with illegal possession.
"In California, it's even illegal (for felons) to go to a gun range and rent a gun," says Slaten.
"There must be some weakness in the police case, like, (Brown) didn’t know the gun was there," McBride speculated. (State law does permit felons to be in the presence of others in possession of guns.)
If prosecutors decide to proceed with a case against Brown, there would be discussions between the lawyers about a possible plea bargain, and failing that, the case would proceed to preliminary hearings and eventually a trial. If Brown were convicted, a judge could take into account his prior criminal history, Slaten says.
McBride thinks Geragos will try to get the case dismissed or diminished in the plea-bargain stage: "Mark is a very good negotiator," he said. "If he goes to trial, he might try to turn it into a 'frame-up' case."
In any case, he believes the current case against Brown does not compare to the case in which he pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna. "Factually, this is not nearly as serious — he really hurt her," McBride said. "Personally, I think this current case is a lot of baloney. This is going to go away in terms of the news cycle (compared to the Rihanna case)."
Child Custody Agreement
Brown shares custody of his 2-year-old daughter, Royalty with her mother, Nia Guzman.That much-litigated arrangement, which allows Brown unsupervised time with her up to a dozen days per month, could change now, along with the amount of child support he is paying.
Guzman's Houston lawyer, Carl Anthony Moore, says he's "contemplating" going back to court to ask for modifications, as soon as he sorts out the "conflicting reports" about what happened on Tuesday.
Who is Brown's accuser
Baylee Curran, 25, a dethroned Miss California Regional and sometime actress, outed herself as the accuser in multiple interviews with local media even as police waited to search Brown's house. According to her account, she was admiring some diamond jewelry during a visit to Brown's house when he and another man became angry. She says Brown pulled out a gun and pointed it at her, telling her to leave.
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