Police: 2 relatives of Bobby Brown fight at Atlanta hotel

ByKATE BRUMBACK and TAMARA LUSH AP logo
Friday, February 6, 2015
Bobbi Kristina Brown fighting for her life
ABC's Marci Gonzalez has the latest on the condition of Whitney Houston's daughter.

ROSWELL, GA -- Atlanta police say a relative of singer Bobby Brown hit another relative in the head with a bottle during a fight at a hotel where family members are staying while they wait for news on the condition of Bobbi Kristina Brown.

Police spokeswoman Kim Jones says officers responded to the W Hotel early Friday in midtown, though the reason for the fight was unclear. Police say Tina Brown hit Shayne Brown in the head with a bottle, but they did not specify their relationships to the entertainer or to each other.

Tina Brown left the scene before police arrived. Shayne Brown had cuts on his head and drove himself to a hospital.

Bobby Brown has been seen this week in Atlanta, where his Bobbi Kristina Brown remains hospitalized. The 21-year-old was found face down in a bathtub at her home just north of Atlanta on Jan. 31.

Clive Davis said he's been in touch with Whitney Houston's family and is praying for her daughter. Davis, who was Houston's mentor, said in an interview Thursday that he's offered his support and prayers, "and they're so grateful."

"Of course it's heartbreaking to see the family go through this pain once again," Davis said at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where Houston died in 2012 and where he will hold his pre-Grammy gala Saturday.

A statement from the Houston family this week said she was fighting for her life.

"They just ask that the public respect their privacy," Davis added.

Davis introduced Houston to the music industry more than two decades ago at his annual pre-Grammy soiree. He guided the big-voiced singer's illustrious career.

Houston was found unresponsive in a bathtub on Feb. 11, 2012, and died at age 48. Authorities found a dozen prescription drug bottles in her Beverly Hills Hotel suite and concluded that she accidentally drowned, although heart disease and cocaine use were listed as contributing factors.

On Wednesday, an attorney identified his client as the person who found Bobbi Kristina Brown face-down in a bathtub last week and called 911, not Brown's partner.

Maxwell Lomas, 24, of Duluth, Ga., not Nick Gordon, a man who said he is Brown's husband, found Brown on Jan. 31 at a townhome in suburban Atlanta, said attorney Philip Holloway. Lomas and the 25-year-old Gordon were both listed in the police report as being at the home when investigators arrived.

"He immediately pulled her from the water and called 911 as well as alerting other people in the house," Holloway said of Lomas. "He did whatever he could do to assist in resuscitative measures until first responders arrived."

Previously, police in Roswell, Ga., where the town home is located, had said that Gordon and Lomas found the woman in the bathtub and that Lomas called 911 while Gordon performed CPR. Gordon has not spoken publicly since then.

On Jan. 15, 2015, Lomas was arrested and charged with weapons offenses, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of a prescription anxiety medication. Lomas pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to Holloway, who said the arrest is unrelated to Brown being found in the bathtub.

"He remains in the Metropolitan Atlanta area and has been questioned by police as have many other people," Holloway said. The attorney described Lomas as a close friend and frequent house guest of Brown's.

Bobbi Kristina Brown has commented often about her marriage to Gordon, the orphaned young man she grew up with after Houston brought him into the family. But her father's lawyer says they never wed.

"To correct earlier reports, Bobbi Kristina is not and has never been married to Nick Gordon," reads a statement released Tuesday by R&B singer Bobby Brown's attorney, Christopher Brown.

Legal authority over Bobbi Kristina's health care and money could become a critical issue for the fractious Houston-Brown family.

Houston never formally adopted Gordon, but raised the two teenagers together after divorcing Brown.

Bobbi Kristina became the sole inheritor of her mother's estate when she died in 2012, and shortly thereafter, she and Gordon went public with their romantic relationship.

Then, on Jan. 9, 2014, Bobbi Kristina posted a photo on Twitter of the couple's hands wearing wedding rings, with the caption "#HappilyMarried. So #InLove. If you didn't get it the first time that is."

And as recently as Dec. 25, she was still telling the world that Gordon is her husband:

"MerryChristmas!! :)(:Snuggling in a beautiful hotelroom with MYbeautiful husband nickdgordon :)(:Life couldn't be sweeter at the moment!"

Relations between Gordon and some other family members soured last year: He remains subject to a protective order barring him from being within 200 feet of Bobbi Kristina's aunt, Patricia Houston.

Bobbi Kristina had tweeted about her mother earlier in the week: