Names and faces

Singer Chris Brown’s trial on an assault charge was put on hold for months Wednesday after prosecutors declined to grant immunity to his bodyguard, who would be a key witness in the case. Brown’s trial had been set to start Wednesday, and Brown’s bodyguard, Christopher Hollosy, had been expected testify and say that he, not Brown, hit a man outside a Washington hotel in October. Hollosy was tried separately and convicted Monday of assault, but he plans to appeal.Hollosy’s lawyer has said that unless Hollosy is granted immunity, he will not testify until he is finished with the appeal. A lawyer for Brown said in court Wednesday that could take at least six months. Prosecutors have said it could take a year. No new trial date for Brown was set. Prosecutors told a judge they decided not to grant Hollosy immunity because he refused to meet with them to discuss his testimony after his conviction. They also believe his likely testimony, that he alone threw a punch, would be a lie. On Wednesday, D.C. Superior Court Judge A. Franklin Burgess Jr. set a status hearing in Brown’s case for June 25, the same day Hollosy is scheduled to be sentenced. Both men are expected to attend that day.

Trial was delayed Wednesday until July for pop star Justin Bieber on driving-under-the-influence and other charges in Florida after his lawyers asked for more time to examine evidence and discuss whether to accept a possible plea deal. Bieber attorney Roy Black initially asked for a 60-day delay from the previous May 5 trial date, but Miami-Dade County Judge William Altfield extended the postponement even further to July 7. Bieber was not present. Prosecutors Daniel Diaz-Balart and Juan Perez said they had no objection to a trial delay. The 20-year-old singer was arrested Jan. 23 in Miami Beach after what police described as an illegal street drag race between Bieber’s rented Lamborghini and a Ferrari driven by R&B singer Khalil Amir Sharieff. Neither was charged with drag racing, but both were charged with DUI. Bieber also was charged with resisting arrest without violence and driving with an expired license. Both have pleaded innocent, although Bieber told police he had been smoking marijuana that night, according to a Miami Beach police report.