Chris Brown assault trial delayed after bodyguard found guilty

Chris Brown’s Washington, D.C., trial on an allegation of assault has been delayed until Wednesday after a guilty verdict for bodyguard Christopher Hollosy complicated defense-attorney plans.

It was thought that Hollosy might testify that only he, not Brown, threw a punch in October at a man who told authorities he was only trying to get into a picture two women were taking with the singer, according to the Associated Press.

However, Hollosy’s attorney now intends to appeal his client’s Monday verdict, and any testimony by the bodyguard without a promise of immunity granted by prosecutors could affect that appeal.

The accused both maintain that 20-year-old Parker Adams was trying to get on Brown’s tour bus, and that any punches thrown were to defend the celeb. At Hollosy’s trial, a limo driver testified that he saw both men strike Adams, while one of the women taking the photo backed up Adams’ version of events, CNN reported.

On the stand, Adams labeled Hollosy’s punch as a 10, while Brown’s came in at only a 6.

“I don’t think that there’s any doubt Chris Brown is not guilty,” attorney Mark Geragos said Monday outside court, adding that Hollosy’s testimony was critical to Brown’s defense and urging prosecutors to grant immunity.

However, the Washington Post reported that Hollosy had declined to meet with prosecutors, who told the paper they couldn’t extend immunity without such a meeting. The bodyguard would be expected to share the nature of his testimony. It’s unusual for prosecutors to grant immunity for a defense witness, the newspaper added.

Brown faces higher stakes in the situation than Hollosy does. Though the assault charges carry a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for both men, Brown might additionally face years in prison if it’s determined by an L.A. court that his behavior in D.C. constitutes a violation of his probation in the 2009 felony assault of then-girlfriend Rihanna.

Brown is isolated behind bars in Virginia after traveling across the country courtesy of the federal government’s prisoner transport system. He was jailed in L.A. on March 14 after he was kicked out of a second rehab, where he’d been ordered to stay pending the outcome of the Washington, D.C., trial.

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