AFP
Wed Jan 15 2014
LOS ANGELES: Detectives searching pop singer Justin Bieber's Los Angeles mansion over an egg-throwing attack seized illegal drugs and arrested one of the singer's associates on Tuesday, officials said.
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department officer Dave Thompson said an individual was arrested after the drugs were discovered in "plain view" as deputies combed through Bieber's luxury home in the upmarket enclave of Calabasas.
Around a dozen detectives swooped on the 19-year-old star's home early Tuesday, probing allegations that the Canadian teen idol was responsible for causing thousands of dollars in damage to a neighbor's house after pelting it with eggs.
Thompson said an investigation into a "felony crime" was ongoing, with the neighbor claiming as much as $20,000 in damage was caused.
On the narcotics arrest, he initially said the drug found on the premises was cocaine, but his department later backtracked on that statement.
"Nothing is confirmed," another spokeswoman for the sheriff's department, Sergeant Carmen Arballo, told AFP.
"It's a controlled substance but we don't know if it's cocaine. We won't know until it's gone to a lab and been tested."
Another sheriff's spokesman told The Los Angeles Times it could be a form of ecstasy.
Thompson said the drugs found at Bieber's property were "in plain view of the deputies when they were looking for the evidence."
Celebrity news website TMZ, which generally has solid sources, said the man arrested was rapper Lil Za, one of Bieber's close friends.
Bieber, who was in the home during the raid, had been neither "arrested or exonerated" in connection with the vandalism case, Thompson said.
He added that the pop star was "not connected" to the drugs seizure, beyond the fact that "the gentleman was staying at his residence."
Officials however dismissed suggestions that the nature of the alleged vandalism was trivial.
"A felony crime is a felony crime. The damage was from the eggs," Thompson said.
"The felony comes from the amount of the damage, and this residence sustained a great amount of damage that easily achieve the felony vandalism section.
"I get that the eggs don't seem that significant but it does rise to the level of a felony. There's an extensive amount of damage and I and the sheriff's department take that very seriously."
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department earlier confirmed they had served a warrant at Bieber's home over the egg-throwing allegations.
"The purpose of the search warrant is to seek video surveillance or other possible evidence in the vandalism that occurred on January 9 ... The vandalism damage is estimated by the homeowner to be approximately $20,000," a statement said.
The warrant followed a complaint from a neighbor of Bieber that the star had hurled raw eggs at his home last week.
The case was first classified as a possible misdemeanor offense.
However officials said Tuesday it was now being probed as a more serious felony offense because the damage to property exceeded $400.
It is not known what prompted the alleged egg attack. But if Bieber is eventually charged and convicted with vandalism he could be facing jail time and a heavy fine under California's penal code.
Tuesday's raid was the latest in a long line of controversial headlines which have tarnished the once clean-cut image of Bieber, who has sold more than 12 million albums since emerging on the music scene in 2009 as a schoolboy sensation.
He attracted criticism on a recent tour of Australia after allegedly spraying graffiti on a hotel wall.
A tour of South America last year also ran into turbulence, with allegations that he tagged the wall of a Rio de Janeiro hotel and failed to pay a bill in a Buenos Aires nightclub.
He also caused offense by stepping on an Argentine flag thrown onto a stage during a concert. He was also evicted from a luxury hotel in Buenos Aires after a room was damaged.
Over the Christmas holidays, Bieber said on Twitter that he was "officially retiring."
Mesyuarat perundingan Enam Pihak Arab bincangkan perkembangan di Gaza
Mesyuarat perundingan Jawatankuasa Enam Pihak Arab itu membincangkan perkembangan serangan Israel ke atas Semenanjung Gaza.
Chegubard didakwa di Mahkamah Sesyen KL esok - Peguam
Badrul Hisham Shaharin atau dikenali Chegubard akan didakwa di Mahkamah Sesyen Kuala Lumpur esok atas pertuduhan memfitnah dan menghasut.
Pulau Pinang, kerajaan pusat bekerjasama tarik pelaburan semikonduktor
Kerajaan Pulau Pinang akan bekerjasama dengan Kerajaan Persekutuan untuk meneruskan usaha menarik pelaburan dalam sektor semikonduktor, termasuk segmen reka bentuk litar bersepadu (IC) di negeri itu.
Rakyat Malaysia di Jordan jadi duta produk PMKS negara
Menteri Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi Datuk Ewon Benedick menyarankan rakyat Malaysia yang menetap di Jordan supaya memainkan peranan sebagai “duta” untuk mempromosikan produk perusahaan mikro kecil dan sederhana (PMKS) SERTA koperasi negara.
Mohamed Khaled tiba di Indonesia, dijadual bertemu Prabowo
Menteri Pertahanan Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin tiba di Jakarta hari ini untuk lawatan kerja rasmi sulung beliau ke Indonesia sejak memegang jawatan itu.
SPRM mohon maklumat dari Jerman
Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) memohon maklumat terkini daripada pihak berkuasa Jerman mengenai dana bon 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) yang dipercayai digunakan untuk membeli kereta mewah di negara itu pada 26 Okt 2022.
SPRM siasat pemimpin kanan di utara tanah air
Seorang pemimpin kanan di utara tanah air disiasat Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) kerana disyaki melantik beberapa syarikat yang mempunyai kepentingan dengannya membabitkan beberapa projek pembekalan melibatkan peruntukan kira-kira RM300,000.
Kembangkan kandungan tempatan melalui AI
Menurut Setiausaha Agung Organisasi Kerjasama Digital (DCO) Deemah Al Yahya, terdapat 2.7 peratus daripada penduduk dunia tidak berhubung malah tidak mempunyai sambungan asas internet. Beliau turut berkata infrastruktur pengkomputeran setiap negara perlu mempunyai kemampuan untuk mengembangkan kandungan tempatan khususnya yang melibatkan penggunaan AI.
AI tidak dapat ganti guru
Menteri Pendidikan Rwanda, Gaspard Twagirayezu berkata kepesatan teknologi AI dalam pendidikan tidak dapat menggantikan guru malah membantu guru dalam menyediakan bahan pengajaran yang bermanfaat kepada pelajar.
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Berikut adalah berita yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Ahad, 28 April 2024.