Stabroek News Sunday

Chris Brown could face jail time for owning pet monkey

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(Aceshowbiz) Chris Brown’s pet monkey might get him arrested. The 28-year-old troubled R’n’B star is facing criminal charges from the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office after a California Department of Fish and Wildlife investigat­ion found that he never got a permit for the baby capuchin monkey he’s owning, Fiji. According to TMZ, Chris has already voluntaril­y surrendere­d the baby monkey, and the case has been turned over to the L.A. City Attorney. Some of Grammy-winning singer’s online followers notified the California Department of Fish and Wildlife after he shared on December 6 an Instagram video of his three-year-old daughter Royalty, whom he shares with Nia Guzman, cuddling Fiji. “Chris Brown posted something on Instagram in December and showed a picture of his daughter with the monkey and said it was his pet,” an officer from the Department of Fish and Wildlife told Page Six on Friday, January 12. “Immediatel­y we had half a dozen or so phone calls. It is not lawful to possess an unpermitte­d monkey, including a bunch of other animals, in California [sic].”

“We did a brief investigat­ion to come to a conclusion that he was indeed in possession [of an animal without a permit],” added the officer, who explained, “On January 2, they used a search warrant to go to the house and [seize] the monkey as evidence and they will file the case with the L.A. City Attorney’s Office. I don’t think it’s been filed yet. I imagine it will be filed soon.”

According to a spokespers­on for the L.A. City Attorney’s Office, there was “no informatio­n at this time.” Meanwhile, Chris’ attorney Mark Geragos said he thought it was “absurd” of the City Attorney to “spend taxpayer money on investigat­ing monkey business.”

The “Forever” hitmaker could face up to six months in jail if convicted. But his attorney said they’re “confident nothing will come of this.”

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