Chris Brown pleads not guilty to battery charge

Chris Brown has pleaded not guilty after he was accused of punching a photographer during an appearance at a club in Florida back in 2017.
The ‘Loyal’ hitmaker was detained by police – who were waiting in the wings of his concert at the Coral Sky Ampitheatre in West Palm Beach – last week due to an outstanding warrant over the alleged attack at Tampa’s Club Air last year.
The photographer suffered lacerations to his face during the scuffle and the whole incident was captured on camera but, despite the footage obtained by officers, the 29-year-old singer has entered a not guilty plea to the felony battery charge.
Chris did not attend the court hearing, which took place in Florida, himself on Monday (09.07.18) and his plea was put forward by his lawyer, according to The Blast.
His lawyer also asked the court to set a date for a "disposition/pre-trial conference."
The ‘With You’ hitmaker was left puzzled last week when he walked off stage after his performance at the open-air music venue and was greeted by arresting officers.
He was held in police custody for an hour before he was released on a $2,000 bail.
Chris – who has four-year-old daughter Royalty with his ex Nia Guzman – has had previous run ins with the law, such as in May 2016 when he was thrown off a plane for allegedly smoking marijuana.
A week beforehand he received a visit from police following complaints from nearby residents after he and a friend began doing doughnuts on all-terrain vehicles (ATV) in the street, including on a number of lawns, and racing up and down the road at around 6pm.
Chris was also infamously convicted for assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna in February 2009, for which he was sentenced to five years of probation, one year of domestic violence counselling, and six months of community service.
His probation was finally lifted in March 2015.
In 2014, Chris spent nearly three months in jail for violating his probation after allegedly hitting a man in Washington, and had his probation revoked in January 2015 following a poor report which claimed he had a "knack" for finding trouble and had been present at two shootings, but he was not involved in either.