The bodyguard of singer Chris Brown has been found guilty on a Washington, D.C. assault charge.
The judge in the case said Monday that Brown's bodyguard, Christopher Hollosy, "was not justified" in punching a man outside a D.C. hotel in October.
Both Hollosy and Brown were charged with misdemeanor assault in the incident. Brown's trial was delayed until Wednesday after Hollosy, a key witness in Brown's case, decided not to testify to avoid self-incrimination in his pending appeal.
Attorneys for both sides now must decide whether Brown's trial can go on before Hollosy exhausts his appeals.
Brown will remain in custody until his next court hearing on Wednesday. Hollosy is scheduled to be sentenced June 25.
Lawyers for @ChrisBrown outside courthouse tell reporters "Chris is not guilty" pic.twitter.com/LMVHwQ3XYW — Mark Segraves (@SegravesNBC4) April 21, 2014
Hollosy told police he punched the 20-year-old Beltsville, Md., man after the man tried to get on Brown's tour bus outside the W Hotel near the White House. The man told police a different story: He said Brown and later Hollosy punched him after he tried to get in a photo Brown was taking with the victim's girlfriend and a female friend.
A limo driver who witnessed the incident said he saw Brown throw a punch that grazed the victim's shoulder. He said he then saw Hollosy throw a punch that resulted in blood. News4's Mark Segraves reports the judge's ruling relied largely on the testimony of the limo driver.
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"There was not evidence that Mr. Parker [the victim] was advancing on Mr Brown," the judge said Monday.
The victim's girlfriend, however, testified that she didn't see the bodyguard punch anyone.
Court papers say the man's nose was fractured. Brown has denied hitting the man.
A guilty verdict for the Grammy winner could have significant repercussions. Besides jail time in D.C., he could face additional penalties, including jail time in California.
At the time he was arrested in Washington, Brown was on probation in Los Angeles for an attack on his then-girlfriend, the singer Rihanna, in 2009. His probation was revoked, and he was ordered to rehab for anger management but was discharged in March for a rules violation. He was then arrested and held in an L.A. jail until U.S. marshals took him into custody and brought him to D.C. for trial in the 2013 assault case.
A civil case is also in the works. The victim is suing for $3 million for doctors' bills, pain and suffering.
The defense said the victim provoked the fight and now just wants to make money.
@nbcwashington bodyguard of #ChrisBrown leaving the courthouse pic.twitter.com/8pkMveOWYs — NBC PHOTOG (@bforte22) April 21, 2014
