Chris Brown Begins Community Service In Va.
Singer Stars 180-Day Community Service Sentence For Beating Up Girlfriend Rihanna
(CBS) RICHMOND, Va. - Singer Chris Brown cleared weeds and debris at police horse stables in Virginia on Wednesday for the first day of his 180-day court-ordered community service for beating ex-girlfriend Rihanna.
Brown worked along with two others who were serving probation, clearing tall weeds and brush by hand and with yard tools. Additional officers were on hand, but only a few fans and television crews gathered nearby.
Dressed in an orange vest, white tank top, baggy jeans and red baseball cap, Brown did not speak to the media but he waved to fans who saw him working.
CBS affiliate WTVR-TV in Richmond posted
videos on its Web site of Brown working in a field.
Brown's schedule, including work hours and days, will be flexible, and he will be performing different types of manual labor, Richmond Police spokesman Gene Lepley said. Police will not reveal when or where Brown will be working in hopes of avoiding security and logistical problems, he said.
"We'll just take a look at it day by day and certainly would ask for the cooperation of the public and Chris' fans so that he is able to satisfy the work requirements," Lepley said.
Brown must pay for the extra guards who work while he is performing community service.
The 20-year-old was sentenced in California last month to five years' probation, six months of community labor and a year of domestic violence counseling for the February attack.
He is performing the labor and undergoing counseling in Richmond, near his home in Montpelier.
Brown spoke publicly about the case for the first time on Sept. 2 to CNN's Larry King. Brown told King his feelings for Rihanna haven't changed since the February beating that left the singer bloody and bruised.
A judge also ordered Brown, 20, and Rihanna, 21, to stay away from each other.
A police affidavit and probation report detail the beating, which included Brown hitting, biting and choking Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty. The attack occurred in a car after the couple attended a pre-Grammy Awards party.
Brown released a video statement last month in which he apologized to fans and said he had repeatedly apologized to Rihanna for the attack.
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