Chris Brown a suspect in Las Vegas assault

Las Vegas police are investigating an allegation of battery against R&B singer Chris Brown.

Authorities received a call shortly before 10:30 a.m. Saturday about the alleged battery at the Palms Casino Resort, Lt. Jeff Goodwin said. A police statement Saturday evening said an altercation took place in a room at the resort when a woman tried to take a photo of Brown. The woman said she was struck by Brown and that he took her cellphone, police said.

Detectives tried to speak with Brown at his hotel room, but the singer left before police arrived.

A crime report has been taken for misdemeanor theft and misdemeanor battery listing Brown as a suspect, police said.

Nicole Perna, publicist for Brown, issued a statement Saturday night calling the woman’s charges “unequivocally untrue.”

The woman “was escorted out of the private afterparty at the Palms Casino Resort for being disruptive and out of control,” Perna said. “Once she was in the hallway, while waiting for Chris Brown’s security to bring out her phone, she had a total meltdown as witnessed by numerous people waiting to get into the party. The Palms Casino Resort security also saw her wild behavior via hotel security cameras and immediately came up to the hallway to escort her out of the hotel.”

Brown performed Friday at Drai’s nightclub at The Cromwell Las Vegas, where he appears regularly.

— Associated Press