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Police Raid Justin Bieber's Home Over Egging Neighbor's House
Justin Bieber (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
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Cops raided Justin Bieber's home in Calabasas this morning with a felony search warrant over accusations that he egged his neighbor's home.
The L.A. Sheriff's Department sent 11 patrol cars to Bieber's house (and a battering ram!) and detained the pop star in his garage while they searched for any evidence that could link him to the egging incident, TMZ reported.
The incident occurred on Jan. 9 and apparently has caused $20,000 in damage to the neighbor's home; the costs include re-plastering the front of the house and re-staining the doors, according to TMZ. The neighbor claimed he confronted Bieber that night, but the singer cursed at him and hurled more eggs his way.
The Sheriff's Department will be holding a press conference at 11:30 a.m. regarding the investigation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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UPDATE 1/15, 9:00 a.m.: Bieber's 20-year-old buddy Lil Za (whose real name is Xavier Dominique Smith) wasn't booked just once at the police station in Agoura yesterday, but twice in the same day! According to E! News, Lil Za was originally arrested on Tuesday for cocaine possession "in plain view" during the raid at Bieber's home, but officials later found discovered it was actually MDMA (a.k.a. "Molly"). Then, just as he was about to post $20,000 bail, he smashed his phone and then got booked a second time—this time for vandalism. Simmer down, Lil Za! He did give a Twitter update about how he was doing:
On the other side, L.A. County Sheriff's Department officials are defending their actions in searching Bieber's home, saying that the egging incident was considered a felony because the damage to the neighbor's house was $20,000, according to The Los Angeles Times. (They've already seen the neighbor's video of the incident, so they must have been looking for empty egg cartons, obviously.) Officials say the investigation is ongoing and although Bieber was not arrested, he has not been exonerated. "None of this has anything to do with him being a celebrity," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Dave Thompson told reporters. "This is a felony crime. This could be Mr. Bieber, this could be you, this could me be, this could be anybody."
UPDATE 1/14, 11:50 a.m.: TMZ reported that officers have arrested Bieber's buddy Lil Za for a felony drug possession of cocaine during the investigation at Bieber's home. However, Bieber is off the hook for the drugs because authorities say he was "not connected" to the cocaine.
BREAKING. LA County Sheriff's Dept says one narcotics arrest made at Justin Bieber home--NOT Bieber--during execution of search warrant.
— Charlie Kaye (@CharlieKayeNews) January 14, 2014
UPDATE 1/14, 11:35 a.m.: L.A. County Sheriff's Department has confirmed the search this morning with Radio.com. "We are executing a search warrant on Justin Bieber’s home this morning as part of our now felony vandalism investigation into the allegations that he egged a neighbors home,” said Steve Whitmore, a spokesperson from L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. “That’s all I can tell you right now.”
Related:
Justin Bieber Investigated For Egging Neighbor's House
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