[CrimsonTide4]

Singer Bobby Brown ordered back to jail

By DAVID SIMPSON
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer


Singer Bobby Brown has been ordered back to jail by a DeKalb County judge.

Brown, the husband of pop diva Whitney Houston, has been free on bond awaiting a trial next Tuesday on a 1996 drunken driving charge. But State Court Judge Wayne M. Purdom issued an order Wednesday postponing the trial date pending Brown's arrest.

On Monday, Brown missed a weekly appointment to report to the court bailiff, which prompted Purdom to issue a bench warrant for his arrest on Tuesday. The judge's order Wednesday said Brown now is considered a fugitive.

Purdom said he postponed next week's trial because out-of-state witnesses deserved to be assured that Brown would appear before being asked to travel to the courthouse in Decatur.

In his orders, Purdom cited a list of missed appearances by Brown and said the singer also had violated his bond by leaving the state "as witnessed by his appearance on a television program broadcast from California."

Brown performed Monday night at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles.

Brown was arrested in April 1996 on Buford Highway by police who said his red Mercedes was weaving in traffic. He was charged with drunken driving, speeding, no proof of insurance and failure to maintain a lane.

He missed a 1997 court date, but DeKalb revived the case after Brown was arrested in Atlanta last Nov. 7 and charged with speeding, no proof of insurance, driving without a license and possession of an ounce or less of marijuana.

After Brown posted bond in Atlanta, he was moved to the DeKalb jail, where he was freed on $10,000 bond. Purdom had cited him for contempt of court for failing to show up for his 1997 trial, and this week he added the latest missed appearance and out-of-state travel to the contempt citation.