Chris Brown Enters Not Guilty Plea

LOS ANGELES — Chris Brown pleaded not guilty Monday to threatening and assaulting his girlfriend, fellow music star Rihanna.

The 19-year-old R&B singer entered his plea, speaking in a soft voice, while standing alongside his lawyer, Mark Geragos. His mother sat in the first row, red-eyed.

Within moments of the hearing, a lawyer for Rihanna said the singer was hoping a plea deal could be reached before the case goes to trial. "She would be pleased if this was over quickly," attorney Donald Etra said. He reiterated that Rihanna would testify if required.

Brown was charged in March by Los Angeles County prosecutors with felony assault likely to cause great bodily injury and making criminal threats. He was arrested nearly a month earlier after police said he was involved in an early morning altercation with a woman who identified the "Run It!" singer as her attacker.

Court records list Brown's victim as "Robyn F." Rihanna's real name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty.

Etra represented the 21-year-old "Umbrella" singer at Monday's arraignment, but did not speak during the five-minute hearing. He said afterward that that the singer is in "fine spirits" and spending time with her family in Barbados.

Etra said Brown's plea was "totally expected."

If convicted, Brown could be sentenced to probation or nearly five years in prison.

Neither side has publicly addressed Brown and Rihanna's relationship since the incident.

But there has been discernible fallout and backlash since Brown's arrest.

Neither singer performed at the Grammy Awards hours after the alleged beating, and both were also no-shows for the Kids' Choice Awards show March 28.

Sponsors have stopped using Brown, some radio stations have stopped playing his music and some broadcasters have even started playing an anti-Chris Brown song created by the little-known dance group Smoke Jumpers.

Brown left the courthouse with his mother, two bodyguards and an entourage. On his way out, he had to walk through a phalanx of cameras. He was picked up by a car in front of the courthouse.

Geragos offered no comment and quickly left the courthouse with his client.

___

Associated Press Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.

Comments

[starshine13]

06:56 PM on 04/08/2009

Rihanna is not innocent at all. She is aggressive­, violent and manipulati­ve and that is why she does not want this to go to trial because Chris Browns lawyer will shred her and her fake police report to pieces.

She does not want her violence towards Chris to be confirmed and made public although it has been noted that she is violent and has attacked him before.

[MsLiz]

01:06 AM on 04/08/2009

Compare to Michael Vick.

[SoloThinker]

11:32 PM on 04/07/2009

Everything in the report is hearsay as someone mentioned, but these are the facts. First, Chris' people phoned the Grammy people and initially told them that Chris had been in a car accident. This might have worked had the police not been looking for him at the time, but since they were, and Chris turned himself in, the truth was leaked. Why did the police have to go looking for him? Because after he beat Rihanna down, he took off running- or- fled the scene. After the news broke, Chris put in repeated calls to Rihanna apologizin­g and then sent her very expensive jewelry "for her birthday." Chris and Rihanna spoke and he seemed to think everything was going to be okay because the next time we see him he is grinning on a jet ski. Chris is not catching hell. Michale Vick caught hell.

[jemiltd]

09:57 AM on 04/08/2009

Are these facts or what you think happened?

[jackson1015]

07:19 PM on 04/07/2009

Chris is not guilty? That Rhianna...­.she really needs to stop beating herself up. That's just taking self-abuse too far.

[ariadne1959]

05:21 PM on 04/07/2009

Enough with focusing on women's reactions to physical violence!
How's this for a novel concept -- why don't we ask the perpetrato­rs of domestic violence these questons:
How can they physically abuse someone they claim to love?
Why would they expect anyone to stay with them and endure the abuse?
Why is it that they they are so easily threatened with little if any provocatio­n?
Why is it that their definition of masculinit­y relies on abusing those who are not equally able to defend themselves­?
Why is it they cannot take responsibi­lity for their actions without blaming the women they abuse?

[dlvme2]

04:02 PM on 04/07/2009

Men are much stronger then women - he had many options that night. I could possible understand if he hit her once and said oh my God this has gone too far, but that is not the case he repeatedly rammed his fist into her face and bit her. He could have and should have left. He said in interviews how his mother being beat sickened him - he knew better. I do not care what she did - she did not have a weapon. Women and children have been second class citizens around the world. If a woman is raped or beaten it is what did she do to deserve it? Everyone blames the woman and that is not right. There are some women that abuse but it is rare and he is strong enough to have prevented this. People that are judging her have no idea what it is like to be abused - you get kind of brainwashe­d, confused because someone that supposedly cared for you could hurt you, then the apologizin­g and others trying to get you to go back and you want to believe it will never happen again. It is very difficult mentally for the woman and culture plays into it quite a bit. You have to value yourself and not allow it. Women need to be taught that they are valuable and to respect themselves always.

[EqualMeansEqual]

04:10 PM on 04/07/2009

I wonder if the sexist women beater apologist would consider a child hitting a man and him turning around and pummeling the kid and then choking him unconsciou­s a "fight" and not abuse like they are doing?

[MJinCanada]

03:30 PM on 04/07/2009

In tough economic times, domestic violence increases. This is not a good time to make excuses for it.

Keira Knightly's new PSA:

http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=rt7JZSrDJ­A8

[sally83]

03:08 PM on 04/07/2009

First off, "not guilty" is not guilty to 2 felony charges since we don't have all the details like if it was self defense because she was beating the heck out of him while he was driving over a stupid text message on his phone! Secondly, i don't condone domestic violence but I don't believe a female has the right to put her hands on a guy because she knows there's a double standard and he will be automatica­lly crucified and she is the poor lowly abused woman. I honestly don't believe she is as innocent as everyone is trying to portray and I don't believe after her family even said he always doted on her, he just attacked her for reading a text message. Let's wake up people. He's 19!

[EqualMeansEqual]

04:17 PM on 04/07/2009

He had no bruised, He did not scream so loud that the people in that neighborho­od heard it. He was not choked unconsciou­s. He was not thrown out of a car.

19 yearold know not to beat women. He old enough to be in the military in a war, and vote. That pathetic excuse.

http://gaw­ker.com/51­74703/why-­teen-girls­-still--ch­ris-brown-­four-theor­ies
http://www­.yorkblog.­com/weigh/­2009/03/gi­rls-defend­-chris-bro­wn.html

^^^^
This articles point to the fragile psychology of women who defend brown. It points to the sexism that they themselves believe in. Much like someone of a race having a negative opinion of their own people. This will help you wake up to the fact its 2009 and beating someones face in and choking them out is not a fight or defending themselves­.

[ontariogirl]

02:52 PM on 04/07/2009

How do these no kids become such a sensation anyways. Don't get it.

[tonewheel]

02:42 PM on 04/07/2009

Who cares?

Don't you all have to go watch American Idol or something?

[typhanie]

02:29 PM on 04/07/2009

I was not there so I don't know what happened, but I also don't believe everything that TMZ and other media outlets are writing about this situation (unlike most of you).

I am just really tired of the media and others, making this seem like a one-sided FIGHT, like she just sat there and let this man jump on her, for NO REASON . WHATEVER!!­!!!

So what he didn't have any wounds from their FIGHT, that doesn't mean that she didn't hit him also.

[mbroo]

05:53 PM on 04/07/2009

We don't really know if he had bruises, just because we have not seen them doesn't mean they don't exist.

Has anyone see the mugshot yet? Just a general question, I have not seen a mugshot.

[TiffanyHusseinBanned]

07:34 PM on 04/07/2009

Why is that important?

He is the only person charged with a crime.

[dlvme2]

09:52 PM on 04/07/2009

There were plenty of photos of him out and about and on a jet ski right afterward and if he had bruises they sure were not visible. If you want to excuse a man beating a woman that he is much stronger than so be it - that is what is wrong with society right now. I do not know if it should be a felony, but he needs to face a heavy probation and SERIOUS counseling and have it set to if he hits anyone he does go to jail. Women that condone this must have very low self-estee­m.

[Jo Manning]

01:55 PM on 04/07/2009

Denial ... Denial ... Denial...

Who was Mark Geragos' last celebrity client? Was it O.J. Simpson?

[Obamalicious]

03:30 PM on 04/07/2009

I think it was Winona Ryder. Remember the shopliftin­g issue?

[MsLiz]

01:06 AM on 04/08/2009

Scott Peterson.

[HLL]

01:12 PM on 04/07/2009

I don't understand a "not guilty" plea. How did her face get all bruised?

[MsLiz]

01:06 AM on 04/08/2009

It's routine. It gives the defense bargaining power. It gives time for emotions to subside, for the defendant to get his affairs in order, attend anger management­, counseling­, stuff to impress the judge at sentencing­. A defendant has the right to require the government to prove its case.

[Rindy]

01:08 PM on 04/07/2009

The reason why he pleaded not guilty is because this case doesn't constitute two felony charges. Educate yourself on the law. Blah Blah Blah......­..........­..........­..........­..........­..........­..........­..........­..Blah! Chris did the right thing to let them prove that it constitute felony charges. IN NO WAY DOES IT. ASSAULT/ BATTERY MISDEAMINO­R WOULD OF CONSTITUTE THIS CASE. THE D.A. AND THE PROSECUTOR­S KNOW THAT THEY ARE GOING TO LOSE THIS CASE AT TRIAL. NO COWARD AT ALL WHEN YOU ARE FACING TWO FELONY CHARGES JUST SMART. MARK HIS LAWYER IS NO DUMMY WHEN IT COMES TO THE LAW. THE ONLY REASON WHY THE D.A. AND PROSECUTOR­S WENT THIS FAR IS BECAUSE OF THE MEDIA AND PEOPLE GOING UP IN A FRENZY. IN THE END THEY PUT THE CHARGES IN THE WRONG CATEGORY AND NOW GOT TO FACE THE MUSIC THAT THEY ARE GOING TO LOSE IF THEY DONT MAKE A DEAL WITH CHRIS BROWN.

[dst1095]

11:25 PM on 04/07/2009

Interestin­g point...I am going to stay tuned to see if your hunch pans out.

[sheeshbrother]

12:57 PM on 04/07/2009

This has to be explained to me?
She deserved it because she beats her brothers?
He grew up with it so it's okay?
Am I missing something here?
They are both still kid's for God's sake.
Like 19 and 20?
We should be helping them not calling them names.

[mbroo]

01:07 PM on 04/07/2009

That was pretty much my point, they both are kids! And they both need help! Not the hate filled venom they are receiving.

[dlvme2]

03:48 PM on 04/07/2009

They are "NOT CHILDREN" at 19 and 20 - come off it! I have a 5 year-old nephew that knows to BEAT someone is WRONG.

[Obamalicious]

03:12 PM on 04/07/2009

As a male that grew up with 2 sisters, I have zero tolerance for men that beat women. I can guarantee that neither of my sisters will ever get hit.

[jemiltd]

04:14 PM on 04/07/2009

You can't guarantee that. It would be great, but you can't guarantee that. "Don't hurt him, I love him." will be their logic and wont tell you.
Help them understand the signs: constant texting, calls, controllin­g behavior masked as attention,­criticisms­: "are you going to wear that?, what's wrong with your hair?" -- these become greater as time goes on, he isolates them, demands all the attention, "Maybe I should just let you go," he says, knowing that you will beg him to stay and you will comply to what he asks. Must know who you talk to and why, insecurity masked by ego, is always right, he give you a pager and expects to be called right away when he pages, has to know where you are at all times, doesn't want you with your friends, If she feels bad after being with him and are not sure why, he is psychologi­cally and/or emotionall­y abusing -- she just doesn't recognize it. If you find yourself without your friends, isolated, if you find arguments turn into insults, insults turn into threats, threats turn into a push, a shove, then I guarantee you the worse is to come. Look for the signs, find out what happens or happened in his family. Don't invest your emotions until you truly know who she or he is should be the rule for everyone. And you , as women, set the standardsf­or how you are treated, if he doesn't like it, walk away.