LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - R&B
singer Chris Brown was taken from his Los Angeles jail cell by the U.S.
Marshals Service and will be transported to Washington, D.C. for a
hearing in a 2013 misdemeanor assault charge, federal authorities said
on Thursday.
Brown, 24, was jailed last month
after violating his probation when he was dismissed from a facility
where he was receiving the court-ordered treatment related to his 2009
assault of his then-girlfriend, singer Rihanna. He will be taken to
Washington, where he is scheduled to stand trial on April 17, U.S.
Marshals Service spokeswoman Lynzey Donahue said.
Brown's lawyer Mark Geragos had
asked the court to have Brown released ahead of the trial into his
custody so that they could prepare for the trial and travel together to
Washington.
A court hearing on the matter
was set for Thursday, but Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James
Brandlin canceled it and issued a written decision instead.
The judge said Brown's attorneys
have been visiting him "on an almost daily basis" at the Men's Central
Jail in Los Angeles to prepare for the D.C. trial, the City News service
reported.
Brandlin issued an eight-page
ruling on the matter, noting that while the transfer may cause "some
inconvenience" to the singer and his legal team, Brown would not be
deprived of his right to counsel if transported by federal authorities.
Brown faces a misdemeanor
assault charge in Washington from an October 2013 incident where he was
accused of allegedly punching a man who was trying to get a picture with
him, breaking his nose.
The singer was sentenced by Los
Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Brandlin to 90 days in a
treatment program following his altercation in Washington.
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