Entertainment

Judge Revokes Chris Brown Probation in Rihanna Assault Case

Published

11 years ago

January 16, 2015

R&B singer Chris Brown, right, appears with his attorney, Attorney Mark Geragos in Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015. A judge has revoked Brown's probation but allowed him to remain free for now after the R&B singer traveled without approval for a concert and failed to complete community service on time. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James R. Brandlin allowed Brown to remain free until a March 20 hearing when the judge will receive an update from probation officials. (AP Photo/Lucy Nicholson, Pool)

R&B singer Chris Brown, right, appears with his attorney, Attorney Mark Geragos in Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015. (AP Photo/Lucy Nicholson, Pool)

ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge revoked Chris Brown’s probation on Thursday but allowed him to remain free for now after the R&B singer traveled without approval for a concert and failed to complete community service on time.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James R. Brandlin said Brown can remain free at least until a March 20 hearing when the judge will receive an update from probation officials.

Brown was ordered by those officials in December not to leave Los Angeles County without permission. However, the Grammy-winning singer performed at a nightclub in San Jose on Jan. 11 without obtaining permission to travel.

Defense attorney Mark Geragos told Brandlin that his office incorrectly advised Brown that he didn’t need permission to travel for the show.

The judge said he accepted Geragos’ explanation, but needed to revoke the singer’s probation to keep control of the case. Brandlin also said it was not unexpected that Brown failed to complete his community service on time.

Brown was supposed to complete 1,000 hours of community labor by the end of January but has roughly 200 hours left, Brandlin said.

A shooting at the San Jose club injured five people, but there were no indications that Brown was involved in the attack. Still, Brandlin ordered probation officials to investigate the shooting and whether there were any issues involving Brown.

In a report, the singer’s probation officer cited another shooting last year involving a Los Angeles nightclub where Brown was present and wrote that Brown is showing poor judgment.

“Though he has shown the ability to be compliant during long stretches of his probation grant, (Brown) continues a pattern of making choices that are counterproductive in his ability to be successful on probation,” Probation Officer Carlos Delgado wrote. “There is also concern that when he performs or attends at (sic) some of his public events, people will get shot or seriously injured.”

Brown has been on probation for his 2009 attack on pop singer Rihanna, then his girlfriend. He was required to complete the community service before the end of January.

Brown appeared in court Thursday with his mother and girlfriend. All three looked somber before the start of the hearing, with Brown spending much of his time with his eyes closed and head down.

The judge said Brown had been making steady progress on the community service aspect of his sentence that requires him to perform manual work such as roadside cleanup or graffiti removal.

The singer avoided probation problems until 2013, when prosecutors questioned whether he completed the terms of his community labor in Virginia. Brandlin briefly revoked Brown’s probation after he was charged with hit-and-run after an accident. That case was later dismissed.

In another case in October 2013, Brown struck a man outside a Washington, D.C., hotel and was charged with misdemeanor assault. Brandlin ordered Brown into rehab, but the singer was expelled from the program in March 2014.

He spent two-and-a-half months in custody before being released in June.

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

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Oakland Post: Week of December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

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4 days ago

January 2, 2026

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

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December 25, 2025

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Alameda County

Bling It On: Holiday Lights Brighten Dark Nights All Around the Bay

On the block where I grew up in the 1960s, it was an unwritten agreement among the owners of those row homes to put up holiday lights: around the front window and door, along the porch banister, etc. Some put the Christmas tree in the window, and you could see it through the open slats of the blinds.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

Christmas lights on a house near the writer’s residence in Oakland. Photo by Joseph Shangosola.

By Wanda Ravernell

I have always liked Christmas lights.

From my desk at my front window, I feel a quiet joy when the lights on the house across the street come on just as night falls.

My father, the renegade of the block, made no effort with lights, so my mother hung a wreath with two bells in the window. Just enough to let you know someone was at home.

Two doors down was a different story. Mr. King, the overachiever of the block, went all out for Christmas: The tree in the window, the lights along the roof and a Santa on his sleigh on the porch roof.

There are a few ‘Mr. Kings’ in my neighborhood.

In particular is the gentleman down the street. For Halloween, they erected a 10-foot skeleton in the yard, placed ‘shrunken heads’ on fence poles, pumpkins on steps and swooping bat wings from the porch roof. They have not held back for Christmas.

The skeleton stayed up this year, this time swathed in lights, as is every other inch of the house front. It is a light show that rivals the one in the old Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia.

I would hate to see their light bill…

As the shortest day of the year approaches, make Mr. King’s spirit happy and get out and see the lights in your own neighborhood, shopping plazas and merchant areas.

Here are some places recommended by 510 Families and Johnny FunCheap.

Oakland

Oakland’s Temple Hill Holiday Lights and Gardens is the place to go for a drive-by or a leisurely stroll for a religious holiday experience. Wear a jacket, because it’s chilly outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at 4220 Lincoln Ave., particularly after dark. The gardens are open all day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the lights on from dusk until closing.

Alameda

Just across the High Street Bridge from Oakland, you’ll find Christmas Tree Lane in Alameda.

On Thompson Avenue between High Street and Fernside drive, displays range from classic trees and blow-ups to a comedic response to the film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Lights turn on at dusk and can be seen through the first week in January.

Berkeley

The Fourth Street business district from University Avenue to Virginia Street in Berkeley comes alive with lights beginning at 5 p.m. through Jan. 1, 2026.

There’s also a display at one house at 928 Arlington St., and, for children, the Tilden Park Carousel Winter Wonderland runs through Jan. 4, 2026. Closed Christmas Day. For more information and tickets, call (510) 559-1004.

Richmond

The Sundar Shadi Holiday Display, featuring a recreation of the town of Bethlehem with life-size figures, is open through Dec. 26 at 7501 Moeser Lane in El Cerrito.

Marin County

In Marin, the go-to spot for ‘oohs and ahhs’ is the Holiday Light Spectacular from 4-9 p.m. through Jan. 4, 2026, at Marin Center Fairgrounds at 10 Ave of the Flags in San Rafael through Jan. 4. Displays dazzle, with lighted walkways and activities almost daily. For more info, go to: www.marincounty.gov/departments/cultural-services/department-sponsored-events/holiday-light-spectacular

The arches at Marin County Civic Center at 3501 Civic Center Dr. will also be illuminated nightly.

San Francisco

Look for light installations in Golden Gate Park, chocolate and cheer at Ghirardelli Square, and downtown, the ice rink in Union Square and the holiday tree in Civic Center Plaza are enchanting spots day and night. For neighborhoods, you can’t beat the streets in Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, and Bernal Heights. For glee and over-the-top glitz there’s the Castro, particularly at 68 Castro Street.

Livermore

The winner of the 2024 Great Light Flight award, Deacon Dave has set up his display with a group of creative volunteers at 352 Hillcrest Avenue since 1982. See it through Jan. 1, 2026. For more info, go to https://www.casadelpomba.com

Fremont

Crippsmas Place is a community of over 90 decorated homes with candy canes passed out nightly through Dec. 31. A tradition since 1967, the event features visits by Mr. and Mrs. Claus on Dec. 18 and Dec. 23 and entertainment by the Tri-M Honor Society at 6 p.m. on Dec. 22. Chrippsmas Place is located on: Cripps Place, Asquith Place, Nicolet Court, Wellington Place, Perkins Street, and the stretch of Nicolet Avenue between Gibraltar Drive and Perkins Street.