Chris Brown off the hook for hit-and-run

R&B star Chris Brown got lucky in court Thursday when a California superior court judge dismissed the charge alleging Brown had been involved in a misdemeanor hit-and-run case in Toluca Lake, Calif. last May.

Judge Christine Ewell noted a “civil compromise” had been reached between Brown and the woman whose car he struck in that incident. The ruling came over the objections of a deputy city attorney who noted that Brown at the time of this car crash, he was on felony probation for a 2009 assault on his former lover, superstar singer Rihanna — and that he had exhibited signs of aggression after the collision.

Brown’s attorney, celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos moved for the dismissal — noting no money was paid the car owner beyond the insurance payment for the damage to her vehicle. He also added that Brown was being “prosecuted for who he is, not what he’s done.”