LOS ANGELES: R&B singer Chris Brown was charged with assaulting his pop-star girlfriend Rihanna on March 5 as gruesome details about the alleged attack emerged for the first time.

Brown, 19, appeared in court for arraignment on the charges, which came after he allegedly subjected Barbados-born Umbrella singer Rihanna to a savage beating in the early hours of February 8.

The incident shocked the music world and left Rihanna nursing cuts and bruises to her face, forcing her to cancel a scheduled performance at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles later that day.

Brown is charged with felony counts of assault and making criminal threats, a statement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said.

If convicted on all counts, Brown could face a sentence ranging from probation to four years and eight months in state prison, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office said.

Brown’s arrival at Los Angeles Superior Court was greeted by a scrum of media who swarmed all over the star and his entourage as he attempted to enter the building.

Details emerged on March 5 in a detective’s affidavit that gave a blow-by-blow account of the incident. The account revealed how Brown allegedly lashed out at Rihanna as the couple drove home from a pre-Grammys party in his rented Lamborghini.

The affidavit said the attack was triggered after Rihanna had read out a lengthy text message from an unidentified woman found on Brown’s phone. The singer reportedly slammed Rihanna’s head against the window of the car before repeatedly punching and biting her. The affidavit said Rihanna’s mouth filled with blood, which was splattered across the interior of the car.

Brown is also alleged to have attempted to push Rihanna out of the moving car before warning, “I’m going to beat the shit out of you when we get home.” When Rihanna called her assistant to alert police, Brown raged, “You did the stupidest thing ever. I’m going to kill you” before putting the singer in a headlock so severe she nearly lost consciousness, according to the report.