Justin Bieber Charged With Limo Driver Assault

Justin Bieber has been arrested and charged in connection to an alleged assault on a limousine driver in Toronto in December. The Toronto Police Service confirmed the 19-year-old singer had handed himself in to officers at 52 Division police station on Wednesday evening.

 

It is alleged that the victim picked up a group of six people outside a nightclub in the city on December 30, but while driving the group to a hotel an altercation occurred between one of the passengers and the driver. During the course of the altercation the driver was hit on the back of the head several times, before stopping the vehicle and calling the police.

Bieber, of Calabasas, California, is facing one charge of assault in connection with the incident. Wearing a winter coat and a cap on backwards, the Canadian teenager was mobbed by the media and screaming fans after arriving at the police station. His California-based lawyer Howard Weitzman said in a statement he expected the assault case to be treated as a low-level offence and insisted his client was innocent. He said: "The Toronto Police Service requested that Justin Bieber appear in Toronto today to face an allegation of assault relating to an incident on December 29, 2013.

A petition to have the 19-year-old deported has 100,000 signatures

"We anticipate that this matter will be treated as a summary offence, the equivalent of a misdemeanor in the United States.
"Our position is that Mr Bieber is innocent."
 
He is due to appear in court on March 10 to face the assault charge.
Lawyers for the Believe singer also filed a written not guilty plea on Wednesday to expected charges of driving under the influence and resisting arrest in Florida.
 
Court records show the plea, which also addresses another alleged charge of driving with an expired licence, was filed on Wednesday in Miami-Dade County.
Bieber already has an arraignment hearing set for February 14, but Florida law does not require him to be present.

Defence lawyer Mark Shapiro said no decision had been made on whether Bieber would attend that hearing. He was arrested with R&B singer Khalil Amir Sharieff last week in Miami Beach during what police described as an illegal street drag race between a Lamborghini and a Ferrari.
Neither has been charged with drag racing.

Police claimed Bieber swore at an officer and admitted to smoking marijuana, drinking and taking a prescription medication. He is also under investigation for vandalism in Los Angeles County over an egg-throwing incident where his neighbour's home was damaged.

Detectives searched his home on January 14 and prosecutors have sought additional information before deciding whether to pursue charges.
German authorities charged him thousands of dollars in 2013 after he abandoned a pet monkey that they seized from him for failing to have proper vaccination papers.

Manager Scooter Braun tweeted on Wednesday evening: "I ask people to be kind and hope for the best in people. Not assume the worst. Thanks."
The singer's latest troubles come as an online petition asking for him to be deported from the US passed the 100,000 signatures required for a White House response.

President Obama's administration must now react to the campaign aimed at kicking the teenager out of the country and revoking his green card.