Singer Chris Brown arrested at home on assault charge
LOS ANGELES -- Police arrested singer Chris Brown on Tuesday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after a woman called hours earlier from outside his Los Angeles home and said she needed help.
The arrest followed an hours-long standoff and lengthy search of Brown's home after police produced a search warrant.
Baylee Curran told the Los Angeles Times that Brown had pointed a gun at her face in his home early Tuesday. She said Brown and another man at his home became angry with her when she admired the man's diamond necklace.
Curran said she and her friend ran outside as one of Brown's associates gave chase and hid under a neighbor's SUV.
She hasn't responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
Earlier, Brown sent messages via social media proclaiming his innocence and rebuffing reports that he had barricaded himself in his home.
"I don't care. Y'all gonna stop playing with me like I'm the villain out here, like I'm going crazy," he said in one Instagram video Tuesday, waving a cigarette and looking at the camera. "When you get the warrant or whatever you need to do, you're going to walk right up in here and you're going to see nothing. You idiots."
Officers first responded to his hilltop estate around 3 a.m. Tuesday after a woman called for help from outside the residence. Police Lt. Chris Ramirez did not identify the woman or elaborate on the assistance she needed. He did not know if she was injured.
Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos, arrived at the house shortly before police served the search warrant. Geragos has not responded to AP's request for comment.
Brown has been in repeated legal trouble since his felony conviction in the 2009 assault of his then-girlfriend, Rihanna.
After several missteps, Brown completed his probation in that case last year.
In 2013, Brown struck a man outside a Washington, D.C., hotel and was charged with misdemeanor assault. The singer was ordered into rehab but was dismissed from the facility for violating its rules.
He spent 2 months in custody, with U.S. marshals shuttling him between Los Angeles and the nation's capital for court hearings.
In another incident while in treatment, Brown was accused of throwing a brick at his mother's car following a counseling session. It came after Brown had completed court-ordered anger management classes.
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Associated Press writers Christopher Weber and Sandy Cohen contributed to this story.
