Chris Brown: Singer investigated for possible assault

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown is under investigation for an alleged assault in a West Hollywood parking lot, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Monday.

Deputies responding to a report of six men fighting Sunday night found the scene clear but were told by witnesses there had been a brief fight over a parking space.

“The altercation allegedly led to Chris Brown punching the victim,” the department said in a statement released early Monday morning.

The “victim” wasn’t identified, but the celebrity website TMZ, which first reported the fight outside the Westlake Recording Studio, said it also involved Frank Ocean, one of the top nominees at the Grammy Awards next month.

In a Twitter posting later, Mr. Ocean said he “got jumped by (Mr. Brown) and a couple guys” and suffered a finger cut.

It wasn’t Mr. Brown’s first problem in the runup to the Grammys. His attack on singer Rihanna on the eve of the 2009 awards event overshadowed the show.

In June he was injured in a brawl with members of hip-hop star Drake’s entourage at a New York nightclub.

No arrests were made in Sunday’s incident. Mr. Brown was gone by the time deputies arrived, but the department said the investigation is ongoing and Mr. Brown would be contacted later.

Email messages to Mr. Ocean’s publicist and Mr. Brown’s lawyer and representative were not immediately returned. A man answering the phone at the recording studio declined to comment.

Mr. Brown, 23, remains on probation for the attack on Rihanna and is due back in court on Feb. 6 to update a judge on his progress. Prosecutors have raised concerns about records showing that Mr. Brown has completed his community labor obligations.

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