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Bobby Brown sentenced to 60 days in jail for probation violations
submitted by: Cynthia, Sherri, Lisa D.
source: Associated Press, Atlanta Journal and Constitution
Date: February 27, 2004
By ELIOTT C. McLAUGHLIN, Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA -- Bobby Brown, arrested two months ago for allegedly striking wife Whitney Houston, was sentenced to 60 days in jail Friday for violating his probation.
Brown was more than halfway through a two-year probation stint passed down in January 2003 after he pleaded guilty to a 1996 drunken-driving charge.
The 35-year-old R&B singer had been accused of five violations including a December misdemeanor battery charge in which police said Brown hit Houston, leaving her with a bruised cheek and a cut inside her lip. He's scheduled to appear May 5 in a Fulton County court on that charge.
The other violations involve failing to take drug tests and pay probation fees. Brown also had been accused of failing to prove that he underwent counseling, completed his house arrest and fulfilled other obligations.
On Friday, Brown was able to show he'd paid the $105 fees, had gone to counseling and had completed his community service. That was enough for State Court Judge Wayne Purdom to cut his sentence in half, from 120 days to 60 days.
"Since you did complete most of the original conditions, I don't feel obliged to sentence you to 120 days," Purdom told the singer.
There was no mention of the battery charge during the hearing. Brown thanked the judge before being quickly escorted to jail.
Houston, the Grammy-winning pop singer, didn't attend the sentencing. Brown's family and attorney said they didn't know why she wasn't there.
Afterward, his mother, Carole Brown, said she thought the judge was "very fair." She added that she'll support her son when he completes his jail sentence.
"I will support him in all his endeavors, and I'm sure they are all going to be positive," she said. "He's not a bad boy, Bobby Brown."
Brown's attorney, Vincent Dimmock, brought a suit for the singer to wear, but the judge wanted Brown to be treated like an ordinary prisoner. Brown wore the standard orange DeKalb County jumpsuit to the hearing.
The singer will get credit for the week he has spent in jail since Feb. 20 when his attorney asked that his probation-revocation hearing be continued.
Dimmock, who's also R&B singer Faith Evans' attorney on drug charges in Atlanta, said he didn't challenge Brown's sentence because it could have been worse. Because Brown had violated his probation, the judge could have put him in jail until January 2005, when his probation is set to expire.
This marks the second time in six months that Brown has been in jail. He served seven days in the DeKalb County jail last August for a probation violation.
Brown and Houston, 40, have been married since 1992 and have a 10-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina.
Brown left R&B group New Edition in the late 1980s for a solo career. His hits include "My Prerogative" and "Every Little Step," but he has become more famous for his numerous brushes with the law and his turbulent marriage with Houston. The couple lives in the Atlanta area.
Singer Brown to stay in DeKalb jail;
Release could come March 21
By DAVID SIMPSON
Singer Bobby Brown can expect to stay in the DeKalb County Jail at least three more weeks for his latest probation violation.
State Court Judge Wayne Purdom on Friday approved an agreement between Brown's lawyer, Vincent Dimmock, and the DeKalb solicitor's office that included a 60-day sentence. Brown had served seven days in jail since his Feb. 20 arrest for violating his probation on a drunken-driving conviction, and his sentence can be shortened by 30 days for good conduct at the jail, meaning he could be released as early as March 21.
Brown sat through the brief hearing wearing an orange jail uniform and spoke only to ask about the sentence.
Perhaps because the judge did not originally mention the "good time" credit, Brown asked Purdom, "Does this mean I'm going back to jail for 60 days?" After the judge explained the possible early release, Brown said, "All right, I understand, thank you."
Purdom said the entertainer had met most of the conditions of his probation, including community service. But he missed appointments to meet with a probation officer and to take drug tests, and he fell $105 behind on probation supervision payments, the judge said.
After the jail sentence, Brown will be barred from driving for 60 days, but he no longer will have to report to probation officers or restrict his travel. If he avoids a motor vehicle arrest for 60 days after his driving privileges are restored, the judge said, his case will be closed.
Purdom did not mention Brown's pending criminal case in Fulton County involving a Dec. 7 dispute with his wife, singer Whitney Houston. DeKalb probation officials mentioned that case in petitioning for Brown's arrest last week.
Brown's problems in DeKalb stem from a 1996 arrest for drunken driving. He pleaded guilty to that charge and served five days in jail in January 2003. Last August, he served a week in jail for an earlier probation violation, followed by 60 days of house arrest.
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