Chris Brown facing criminal charges for purchasing his daughter an exotic monkey for Christmas without getting a permit – and could spent six months behind bars
- A Los Angeles City Attorney spokesperson tells DailyMail.com that Chris Brown is facing two counts of possession of a restricted primate without a permit
- The charges stem from his decision to purchase a capuchin monkey for his daughter Royalty last Christmas without a permit
- He will be arraigned on February 6
Chris Brown is heading to court, yet again, to be arraigned on new criminal charges.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles City Attorney tells DailyMail.com that the 29-year-old singer is facing two counts of possession of a restricted primate without a permit.
That charge is related to his purchase of a capuchin monkey for his daughter Royalty last Christmas.
He will be arraigned on February 6, and could face up to six months behind bars.
Legal woes: A Los Angeles City Attorney spokesperson tells DailyMail.com that Chris Brown (above in 2017 with daughter Royalty) is facing two counts of possession of a restricted primate without a permit
Surprise: The charges stem from his decision to purchase a capuchin monkey for his daughter Royalty last Christmas without a permit(Brown’s daughter Royalty with the capuchin monkey in December 2017)
Brown’s new pet was brought to the attention of authorities after it made an appearance on social media.
Soon after Brown posted video of his delighted daughter playing with the animal in December 2017 he got a holiday surprise of his own when he discovered that a permit is required to house the exotic monkey.
TMZ was the first to report the story.
This comes one year after agents from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife seized the pet monkey from Brown’s Los Angeles home.
Captain Patrick Foy said at that time that investigators determined the singer did nothave a permit for the capuchin monkey, named Fiji.
The singer posted an Instagram video showing his 3-year-old daughter, Royalty, cuddling with the monkey.
Foy said that this then prompted a half-dozen calls to the wildlife department from concerned people.
Brown agreed to cooperate at the time, and soon after agents served a search warrant at his home.
Brown in a mugshot taken in Florida this July after he was charged with felony battery
The singer was not there at the time but had employees hand over the monkey in a cage.
Fiji is now at an undisclosed facility.
Brown has been in repeated legal trouble since pleading guilty to the felony assault in 2009 of his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, ahead of the Grammys.
He completed his probation in that case in 2015.
In 2013, Brown was charged with misdemeanor assault after he was accused of striking a man outside a Washington DC hotel.
He was ordered into rehab but was dismissed for violating facility rules.
Brown spent close to three months in custody, with US Marshals shuttling him between Los Angeles and the nation’s capital for hearings.
After he completed court-ordered anger-management classes, Brown was accused of throwing a brick at his mother’s car following a counseling session.
He was then charged with felony battery again just this past July following a 2017 incident in Florida.
Brown was accused of hitting Bennie Vines Jr., who was hired by a club in Tampa to take pictures during an event hosted by Brown in April 2017.
Vines told officers Brown punched him while he was snapping photos. Brown was gone by the time officers arrived that night. Vines refused medical treatment, but he told the officers that he wanted to prosecute over a minor lip cut.