Singer Bobby Brown jailed in Atlanta

Thursday, November 7, 2002 Posted: 3:15 PM EST (2015 GMT)

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Singer Bobby Brown was arrested on traffic and drug charges in Fulton County in Atlanta, Georgia, early Thursday -- but he is set to appear in court Friday in a neighboring county on similar 1996 charges.

After posting a $1,300 bond in Atlanta, the 33-year-old husband of singer Whitney Houston was transferred to DeKalb County, where he was wanted on the five-year-old warrant.

Brown, 33, was booked and then released after posting a $10,000 bond.

The DeKalb County warrant stemmed from a April 1996 arrest for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, no proof of insurance, failure to maintain a lane and speeding, according to the DeKalb County court system.

In that case, after a flurry of legal activity from Brown's attorneys and local media television stations that wanted to tape the proceedings, the singer's arraignment was put on the February 3, 1997, docket. But State Court Judge Wayne Purdom refused to hear Brown's plea in abstentia and continued the proceedings until February 14.

When Brown failed to appear then, Purdom issued a bench warrant and the singer forfeited a $1,260 bond.

Brown was charged in Atlanta on Thursday with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, no proof of insurance, speeding and no drivers' license after a 2:35 a.m. traffic stop in the trendy neighborhood of Buckhead, according to Atlanta Corrections Department spokeswoman Gail Middlebrook.

He launched his career with the 1980s group New Edition before embarking on a solo career that has often brought him more attention for run-ins with law enforcement than for his music.

In January 1998, Brown was convicted in Florida of two misdemeanors: driving under the influence of alcohol and property damage. Brown crashed his wife's sports car into a condominium sign. He served five days in jail and was released on probation.

In May 2000, the singer was arrested by U.S. Customs agents in New Jersey after he and Houston returned from a trip to the Bahamas.

The arrest stemmed from an outstanding warrant accusing him of violating probation in the Florida drunken-driving case. The warrant had been issued nearly a year earlier, in June 1999, after Brown's probation officer reported that evidence of cocaine had been found in his urine test.

NEWSFILE: 7 NOVEMBER 2002