Chris Brown has pleaded guilty to a felony assault in exchange for probation in the case involving himself and Rihanna. Here are the details.

Brown’s lawyer Mark Geragos announced that a deal had been struck just minutes before a preliminary hearing was set to start in a Los Angeles courtroom. Brown, who could have faced four years in prison for felony charges of assault and making criminal threats, will not serve any jail time.

Instead, he was sentenced to five years probation and 1400 hours of community service, which he may be allowed to serve in his home state of Virginia. If Brown violates his probation, he will be ordered to serve the maximum four years.

So Chris Brown’s lawyer avoided a court case by coping a plea. Why? Because then all the gory details of what transpired the night in question won’t ever come to light. Pretty smart. He also got Chris Brown out of having to go to jail for at least four years.