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Chris Brown Cell Phone Theft Case in FL Could Land Singer in LA Jail

By Stephanie Rabiner, Esq. on February 23, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

A woman is accusing Chris Brown of cell phone theft, according to a report filed with the Miami Beach Police. Christal Spann claims the incident happened after she snapped a photo of the singer as he sat in a Bentley outside a local club on Sunday night.

Brown allegedly put his hand through the window, snatched the phone from her hand and took off. Not before saying, "B----, you ain't gonna put that on no website," of course.

The Miami Beach Police has confirmed with E! News that the State Attorney is preparing a warrant and plans to arrest him on suspicion of "robbery by sudden snatching." That's a great name for a crime, but not such a great thing to do if you're Chris Brown.

Cell phone snatching violates the terms of the singer's probation, which he is currently serving for the 2009 assault of ex-girlfriend Rihanna. It's a felony theft charge in Florida, and could certainly land him back in a Los Angeles jail.

This is true even if Miami prosecutors decide not to continue the case, or if they are unable to secure a conviction. This is because the standard of proof is not as strict during probation hearings as it is in criminal trials.

Generally, a probation violation must be proven by a "preponderance of the evidence." This means the evidence must show that there is more than a 50% chance that Chris Brown stole the cell phone from Spann.

Depending on the credibility and the number of witnesses, it may not be too difficult for Los Angeles prosecutors to meet this burden. But first they need to decide whether the Chris Brown cell phone case is worth their time.

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