FILE – In this June 7, 2015, file photo, rapper Chris Brown performs at the 2015 Hot 97 Summer Jam at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Authorities said officers responded to singer Brown’s Los Angeles home early Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016, after a woman called police seeking assistance. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Singer Chris Brown reached a deal with Los Angeles city prosecutors Wednesday that is expected to spare him jail time for possessing a capuchin monkey without a permit.
Brown, 30, was charged last year with a pair of misdemeanor counts of possessing the monkey between Oct. 31, 2017, and Jan. 3, 2018, without a permit from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
In court Wednesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner H. Elizabeth Harris ordered Brown to enter a six-month formal diversion program, under which the charges will be dismissed if the singer does not violate the agreement by possessing any other non-permitted animals.
If he does commit any violations, he could face jail time and fines.
Brown was ordered to pay $35,000 to cover the cost of caring for the capuchin monkey, which has been placed in a specialized retreat for primates by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Brown's attorney, Blair Berk, said Brown has already paid the $35,000.
Harris scheduled another court hearing for June 6, when the case is expected to be dismissed barring any further violations by Brown.
Authorities had obtained a search warrant for Brown's home after several people reported he had the monkey -- likely after he posted a picture of his young daughter, Royalty, holding the baby capuchin monkey on social media.
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But Brown voluntarily agreed to surrender the monkey he named Fiji, avoiding a raid.
