Judge seeks audit of Chris Brown's community work

LOS ANGELES - A judge ordered an audit of Chris Brown's community service progress Tuesday after a prosecutor handling his felony assault case cited a possible discrepancy in the amount of work he has performed.

Deputy District Attorney Mary Murray requested the audit because she says the records are not clear on how many hours Brown performed and where the work has been done. Brown had been allowed to perform six months' worth of community labor in his home state of Virginia, but a judge said probation officials in Los Angeles should review detailed records to ascertain how much work he has actually done.

Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg said Brown had completed a significant number of hours, but did not elaborate.

Brown's attorney Pat Harris did not object to the audit, and said after the hearing the issue was related to which jurisdiction his client performed his community service in.

The judge said part of the issue was that the court hadn't received detailed logs of Brown's community service, which is supposed to comprise of graffiti removal, roadside cleanup and other manual labor. Schnegg said those logs had previously been provided, but not for recent updates.

Brown, 23, remains on probation for beating his then-girlfriend Rihanna in February 2009. He has completed domestic violence and anger management counseling.

Schnegg ordered Brown to appear at the next hearing, tentatively scheduled for Aug. 21. It will be the first time Brown has had to appear in court in several months, and the R&B singer has generally received favorable reports from probation officials and Schnegg.

There was no mention of the recent New York City bottle-throwing nightclub brawl that left Brown with a cut on his chin, or a woman's claim that the singer had snatched her cellphone in Miami after she tried to take a picture of him. The melee occurred members of singer Drake's entourage stopped Brown and his group from leaving the club W.i.P., though neither entertainer has been arrested. Drake has said he was leaving the club when the fight began.

Brown's attorney Mark Geragos asked that the singer's probation be terminated in February. But a judge declined, stating that the Grammy nominee should complete more of his community service obligations.

At the time, officials reported that Brown had completed half of the six months' worth of roadside cleanup, graffiti removal and other manual labor that he was ordered to do after pleading guilty.

Brown is serving a five year probation sentence.
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Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP