Chris Brown In Custody Of Federal Marshals; R&B Singer To Get 'Con Air' Flight To Washington DC For Misdemeanor Assault Trial

Chris Brown was taken into custody from a Los Angeles jail by the U.S. Marshals Service and will be transported to Washington D.C. for a 2013 misdemeanor assault trial, federal authorities said Thursday.

Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos, confirmed that the R&B singer was taken to the San Bernardino County jail from where he will be taken to Washington to stand trial on April 17. Both CNN and the Washington Post reported that Brown's flight would be on a "Con Air" jet, which federal officials use to transport prisoners.

The news of the transfer comes on the day of a hearing that was scheduled for a motion by Geragos who requested the court to have Brown released ahead of the trial so they could prepare for it and travel together to the nation's capital. But, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Brandlin canceled the hearing and issued an eight-page ruling on the matter.

According to Associated Press, Brandlin decided that sending Brown to Washington on federal transport would be "the most expeditious and convenient method for all parties," while Reuters reported, citing the City News service, that the judge also observed that Brown's attorneys have been visiting him "on an almost daily basis" at the Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles to prepare for the trial.

The 24-year-old singer was jailed last month after violating his probation and being dismissed from a court-ordered rehab facility related to his 2009 assault of his then-girlfriend, Rihanna. In November, Brown was sentenced to 90 days in a treatment program after being arrested in Washington for assaulting a man and breaking his nose for trying to photograph the artist.