Chris Brown Won't Be Charged in South Beach Cell Phone Theft

For a man hated intensely by at least half the country, singer Chris Brown continues to catch some lucky breaks.Back in February, Brown was accused of stealing an iPhone from a fan who was trying to take pictures of him and then driving off in a chauffeured Bentley. Now, nine...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

November 30, 2012

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For a man hated intensely by at least half the country, singer Chris Brown continues to catch some lucky breaks.

Back in February, Brown was accused of stealing an iPhone from a fan who was trying to take pictures of him and then driving off in a chauffeured Bentley. Now, nine months later, the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's office has decided that they won't press charges.

The incident allegedly happened in the early hours of Sunday, February 19. Christal Spann, 24, spotted the singer/dancer/woman beater out side of Cameo nightclub alongside rapper Tyga and snapped a photo.

Brown noticed, and allegedly yelled, "Bitch, you ain't going to put that on no website."

Brown reached through the window of his Bentley, grabbed the phone, and then drove off. Miami-Beach police failed to arrest Brown that night, and prosecutors seemed to drag their feet on the investigation.

According to a memo released today, the office says that they failed to find evidence that Brown took the phone or even forcibly deleted a photo form him.

Though, they do contend that the phone was apparently thrown out the window of a car and was later picked up by a member of Tyga's security team.

It's a big lucky break for Brown. He's still on probation for his 2009 beating of Rihanna, and a conviction could have seen him sent to jail.

Update: Here's the full story from the State Attorney office.

After Brown grabbed the phone, Spann and a friend chased after his car. The front window roled down and someone told them they had thrown it out of the window near Cameo. Spann and her friend returned to the club but couldn't find it.

After being referred to member of the Miami Beach police who specialized in iPhone thefts, Spann was told to access the "Find my iPhone" option through Apple. The phone turned out to be at the Mandrian Oriental Hotel on Brickell Key. While Brown was not registered as a guest, Tyga had rented several rooms there.

Through GPS, police discovered that the phone had traveled to Atlanta and then back to South Florida. Tyga had performed in Atlanta during that time.

Police received permission from Tyga to search his tour bus. The phone turned up in a backpack owned by Tyga's head of security.

While some witnesses told detectives that Brown had snatched the phone, others said that Spann had thrown the phone into the car and Brown merely threw it back out.

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