R&B singer Chris Brown (L), who pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend Rihanna, appears in court for allegedly violating his probation, in Los Angeles, California, March 17, 2014.
Over six years after Chris Brown assaulted Rihanna following a pre-Grammys party, the singer is officially off probation. The judge overseeing Brown’s case made the decision at a hearing in Los Angeles Friday, ruling that the X singer had finally satisfied the conditions of his sentence before closing the assault case against Brown, the AP reports. Brown immediately tweeted after the hearing, “IM OFF PROBATION!!!!!!!! Thank the Lord!!!!!!”
Following the February 2009 incident, Brown was sentenced to enroll in anger management classes and complete community service hours. However, it was his inability to adhere to the rules of his probation – there was the felony assault charge, the hit-and-run incident, the fights with Frank Ocean and Drake – and ultimately his dismissal from rehab that found the singer thrown in jail from March 2014 to June of that year. Brown also spent time in treatment centers after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and complications from substance abuse.
After Brown’s release from jail, he stayed mostly out of trouble until this January, when Brown’s probation was briefly revoked after the singer appeared onstage at – but was not involved in – a Sacramento, California nightclub shooting that left five people shot and injured. At the time, the judge overseeing Brown’s case ruled that the singer did not have permission to leave Los Angeles County as mandated by his probation, nor did he finish his 200 hours of community service, which initially had a January 2015 deadline for completion.
While Brown wasn’t taken into custody after his probation was revoked – even though the probation department recommended jail time, TMZ reports – the judge scheduled a March 20th court date to check in on Brown’s progress. At Friday’s hearing, Brown’s probation officer reversed course, saying in a positive review that Brown had completed his community service sentence. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James R. Brandlin still had the option of extending Brown’s probation, but instead he ruled the singer would no longer be under the watchful eye of the judicial system.
“He is in a spot right now and a place right now that I couldn’t be prouder of him,” Brown’s lawyer Mark Geragos said of his client, adding that the end of his probation is “a monumental feat for him.” Despite his troubles the past six years, Brown was aware that his probation could end with Friday’s hearing, tweeting before he entered the courthouse, “Hopefully this is my last day in court….. Pray for me.”