According to reports on TMZ.com, Chris Brown has just checked himself in to a Los Angeles rehab facility for anger management issues, probably in a last ditch attempt to forestall a possible probation violation sentence.
An investigation has been launched by LA County Department of Probation to decide whether Brown’s arrest at the weekend violated the five-year probation order he received for assaulting Rihanna in 2009.
The singer was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning (October 27) after a man accused him and his bodyguard of breaking his nose outside a Washington DC hotel. He spent Sunday night in jail and on Monday was released on bail to reappear on November 25. He denies a misdemeanour assault charge.
Brown allegedly met with LA County Department of Probation officials, who will determine whether he will be deemed to have violated the earlier probation order. Unless they decide in his favour, Brown may face up to four years in jail.
Following Brown’s arrest, a guest judge on a US TV show said that the singer’s public threats to ‘kill’ anyone he has an altercation with could land him in serious trouble, since such outbursts can be interpreted to contravene California Penal Code 422 – the making of terrorist threats.
Considering the sentence that hangs over his head, Brown has hardly been diligent about staying clear of trouble. In August, he was cleared of hit-and-run charges after a judge ruled the singer and a woman, whose Mercedes he hit with his Range Rover, had reached an agreement over the case.
In January, it was claimed he was involved in a fight with singer Frank Ocean over a car parking space outside a Hollywood recording studio. At the time, detectives said Brown was under suspicion for punching the victim but the case was dropped after Ocean decided not to press charges.
