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Rihanna & Chris Brown fight started over text message from other woman
It started with a text.
The explosive fight that landed sultry singer Rihanna in the hospital ignited when singer Chris Brown got a text message from another young woman, a source said.
"He got a booty call. He got a text. Rihanna saw it and she got upset. They started to argue. She got out of the car. He wanted her to get back in, so he grabbed her," the industry source said. "She pulled away. That's when she's told people he hit her."
The Barbados-born beauty had "visible injuries" when cops arrived, and she's been cooperating with the investigation ever since, while freezing out Brown.
"Chris has been trying to contact her. So far she hasn't taken his call," the music business source said. "Her family is on their way to be with her. She has some close girlfriend looking after her."
The source scoffed at reports that the fight erupted after a jealous Brown scolded Rihanna for spending time with producer Timbaland at a pre-Grammy party.
Cops and sources say the two were driving a rented Lamborghini on a ritzy street south of Rihanna's pad in the Hollywood Hills early Sunday when they quarreled, parked, got out and "the argument escalated."
Cops responding to a 911 call found the "Umbrella" singer with a split lip and contusions on either side of her forehead, according to People.com.
"She looked distraught and in a lot of pain. Her eyes were closed because she was looking down," a police source who saw photos told People.com.
Rihanna also reportedly had bite marks on her hand and was treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Cops delivered their case to prosecutors Tuesday, but the district attorney sent them back to the drawing board.
"LAPD did present a case this morning and we have asked for further investigation," DA spokeswoman Jane Robison said.
Robison wouldn't describe the holes that prosecutors want plugged.
A legal expert said prosecutors generally ask for an overabundance of "witness work" in cases like this because victims often lose their nerve when it comes to trial.
"These cases are often stymied by the refusal of victims to testify," said attorney Alexandra Leichter, a Beverly Hills-based private arbitrator. "If witnesses saw the victim before the attack, witnesses heard the screams and then cops came and she was bloodied, then the circumstantial evidence could be enough to convict."
The Daily News spoke to a witness Tuesday who heard the raucous fight explode outside her house: "I heard the screaming. It was loud," the homeowner said.
"In my opinion, either [the cops] have conflicting stories and not enough evidence, or the DA is debating whether to file this as misdemeanor or felony battery," said defense attorney Steve Cron. "If you have a scratch or a bruise, that's more in the realm of misdemeanor. If you have a cut that requires stitches, bruising showing multiple blows, a broken bone or a chipped tooth, that's more felony."
Brown, 19, has kept a low profile since he was booked on a felony criminal threats charge and released on $50,000 bail. His attorney Mark Geragos did not return calls seeking comment.
Singer Kanye West, who toured with Rihanna last year, said he was "devastated" by word of the alleged abuse.
"All I will say is, it's so devastating. I feel like, just as a person, I don't care how famous she is, or even if she worked at McDonald's, that should have never happened," West told Ryan Seacrest during a radio interview. "It should never come to that place."
Weakness in Brown's Case -- Prior Attacks
Chris Brown may have gotten lucky, because the charge he was booked on is kinda weak, law enforcement sources tell TMZ. But he's still in big trouble, and Rihanna says it's not the first time he's attacked her.
Sources say the Los Angeles County District Attorney kicked the case back to the police for further investigation because evidence that he made criminal threats against Rihanna is kind of thin. Our sources are quick to say he will, however, almost certainly be charged with felony domestic battery, a lesser offense but still serious.
Here's how it went down according to the police report. After Chris received a text message from a woman who wrote about getting together, an argument erupted. By the way, initially, Rihanna would not tell cops what started the argument.
She did, however, tell them that during the argument he started hitting her. According to the police report, she ordered him to drive her home and "faked a call" to someone, saying things like "He's dropping me off. Make sure the cops are there."
Rihanna told cops the fake call enraged Brown. He said something to the effect of "You are really fu**ed up now. I'm going to kill you." This statement is the basis of the criminal threats charge.
At that point, according to the report, Brown allegedly began a violent attack with his fists. At some point Rihanna took the keys out of the ignition and threw them outside.
And there's this. According to the police report, she told cops this was not the first time Brown hit her. She referred to it as an ongoing and escalating abusive relationship.
We're told the criminal threats charge is based on that one statement Brown allegedly made. As one law enforcement source told us, "It's kinda weak, and the D.A. is not going to prosecute a high profile case like this unless it's solid." That's why it was kicked back for further investigation.
Given the brutal nature of the attack, which the photos clearly show -- contusions on the face, swollen eyes, cut lip, bloody nose, bite marks on fingers and arm -- a felony domestic battery charge is virtually a done deal. That, however, is a less serious offense than making criminal threats.
Message edited 2/12/2009 8:39:13 AM.
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