Michael Brown pleads guilty, sentencing scheduled for Sept. 25

Michael Brown sits in the Harris County Criminal Justice Center as his assault trial continues Tuesday. (Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle) Michael Brown sits in the Harris County Criminal Justice Center as his assault trial continues Tuesday. (Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle) Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Michael Brown pleads guilty, sentencing scheduled for Sept. 25 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

As expected, former hand surgeon Michael Brown has pleaded guilty in federal court in Florida to one count of assaulting or intimidating a flight crew member.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 25 in Miami, according to online court records.

Under an agreement reached earlier with the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of Florida, the government is recommending that Brown be sentenced to two years of supervised release and a $5,000 fine, according to court records.

As stated in court documents, however, the judge is not obligated to follow advisory sentencing guidelines which call for a punishment range of zero to six months imprisonment and a fine of up to $5,000.

The government recommended this sentence, and the defense agreed, court records state.

Brown, who initially pleaded not guilty to the charge of assaulting a flight attendant on a Jan. 2 flight from London to Miami, on Tuesday changed his plea to guilty.

Brown was arrested Jan. 2, accused of choking a flight attendant and threatening to strip naked on the transatlantic flight. He was released on bond to his Miami residence but was allowed non-commercial flights for purposes of litigation, business or visiting his minor children in Texas, according to court records.

The case had been set to go to trial July 22.

In February, lawyer Robert Hantman told the Chronicle that Brown had a "negative reaction" after drinking alcohol and taking an insomnia medication on the London-to-Miami flight.

This negative reaction led him to choke a flight attendant and threaten to strip naked, Hantman said at the time.

In court documents filed June 11, attorneys with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Florida stated that the defendant was expected to argue that he had a "dissociative episode" due to taking a sedative plus alcohol and had no memory of assaulting two flight attendants.

"This is precisely the sort of defense which is squarely precluded by law," the government's June 11 filing stated.

Houston attorney Jack B. Zimmermann joined Brown's defense team earlier this month for the Florida case.