A judge dismissed the last of the charges against Chris Brown relating to a car crash in May, stating that Brown had come to a “civil compromise” with the victim.
Los Angeles superior court judge Christine Ewell rejected the hit-and-run charge despite objections from the prosecution, who pointed to Brown’s aggression at the scene of the crash. After running into a Mercedes driven by Olga Gure-Kovalenko, Brown reportedly refused to hand over his driver’s permit or insurance information, and referred to Kovalenko as a “bitch”.
Despite these early offences, the singer did eventually provide Kovalenko with the correct information. Accordingly, LA city attorneys recently dropped the misdemeanor charges of driving without a licence and driving without insurance only the hit-and-run allegation remained.
Because of Brown’s probation status, prosecutors argued, it was much more serious that he had left the scene without giving Kovalenko his details. But judge Ewell saw Brown and Kovalenko’s undisclosed “compromise” as sufficient grounds to dismiss the hit-and-run charge. “The case never should have been filed in the first place,” said Brown’s lawyer, Mark Geragos. Although details of the settlement were not released, he insisted Kovalenko had not been paid any money apart from insurance compensation for damage to her vehicle. “[Brown was] being prosecuted for who he is rather than what he’s done,” Geragos said.
Later today, Brown is scheduled to appear at a hearing over allegations that he has violated his probation through several offences, including the falsification of community service hours.
Brown, who recently suffered a seizure due to “extreme emotional stress”, is due to release a new album later this month. He has announced it will be his second-last.
Information from The Guardian contributed to this report.
