Embattled R&B star Chris Brown has been taken into custody by US marshals and will be transported to Washington DC for an upcoming misdemeanor assault trial, an official says.
Brown, 24, was turned over to marshals on Wednesday at a Los Angeles jail, marshals' spokeswoman Laura Vega said.
She declined to say when the Grammy winner would be sent to Washington.
The singer and his bodyguard are accused of hitting a man outside a Washington hotel in October.
Brown remains under court supervision in Los Angeles for a felony assault case filed after his 2009 attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna.
He has been held without bail in the city since mid-March, when he was discharged from court-ordered rehab for violating the rules of the facility.
He could not be moved to Washington until federal prosecutors - who handle all serious criminal cases in the nation's capital - obtained a court order there.
The order authorised the transfer of Brown by federal marshals for the trial set to begin later in April.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James R Brandlin ruled on Thursday that having Brown go on trial in Washington was the most efficient way to handle his legal troubles,
"It is the most expeditious and convenient method for all parties," Brandlin wrote in his ruling.
Defence lawyer Mark Geragos had been trying to block Brown's transfer in the custody of marshals, arguing it would deprive him of a chance to properly prepare for the trial.
Brandlin rejected that argument and cancelled a hearing scheduled for Thursday on the motion by Geragos, who wrote in an email that the Marshals Service took Brown into custody just hours after the lawyer filed the motion.
Geragos has sought the dismissal of the misdemeanor assault case, and a hearing on that request is scheduled for Monday in Washington.
If convicted in the Washington case, Brown could face additional penalties, including time behind bars, under the terms of a court order in the Rihanna case.
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