UPDATE: Justin Bieber pleads no contest in vandalism case

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

photo Justin Bieber

VAN NUYS, Calif. - Justin Bieber has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor vandalism charge for throwing eggs at a home in his Calabasas neighborhood, and he's been sentenced to two years' probation.

Bieber was also ordered to pay $80,900 in damages, complete five days of community labor and a 12-week anger-management program, and stay away from the victim and his family for two years.

The Grammy-nominated singer was not present for the Wednesday arraignment at Superior Court in Van Nuys.

A spokeswoman for Bieber says he's glad to have the matter resolved and behind him.

Prosecutors spent months considering whether to file charges after the singer's mansion was searched following the January incident. A detective wrote that someone matching Bieber's description was seen on video high-fiving his friends at the time of the incident.

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Justin Bieber will be charged in Los Angeles in an egg-throwing incident in January that damaged a neighbor's home, prosecutors said.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Bieber will be charged Wednesday with one count of misdemeanor vandalism.

The Grammy-nominated singer will not be present for the 1:30 p.m. arraignment at Superior Court in Van Nuys, DA spokeswoman Jane Robison said.

It's not immediately clear what the potential penalty is.

Prosecutors spent months considering whether to file charges. The singer's Calabasas mansion was searched on Jan. 14 and detectives later filed a search warrant to obtain images from Bieber's Instagram account to match them up to surveillance footage taken from his home. A detective wrote that a person matching Bieber's description was seen high-fiving his friends after running toward a neighbor's home, but footage of the egg attack was not captured.

Sheriff's detectives estimated the damage to the home at up to $20,000. The threshold for filing a felony is if more than $400 in damage was caused.

Bieber was not arrested during the search of his home, but his friend and personal manager Xavier Domonique Smith was charged with felony drug possession. Smith, an aspiring rapper who goes by the name Lil Za, pleaded no contest to felony possession of ecstasy and was sentenced to probation and a drug treatment program.

Bieber faces two other cases in Florida and Toronto. A Miami court has set a trial date this month for his DUI case, which also includes charges that he resisted arrest without violence and was driving with an expired license.

A preliminary toxicology report showed that the singer tested positive for marijuana and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax after his arrest, but no other illicit drugs were found in his system.

The singer turned himself in to Toronto authorities on Jan. 29 on a charge that he assaulted a limo driver in late December. Bieber's attorney Howard Weitzman has said that Bieber is innocent in that case, which he described as being the equivalent of a misdemeanor case in the United States.

Bieber gained stardom with his debut album at age 15 and his career has been guided by a pair of music industry heavyweights, singer Usher and manager Scooter Braun. He has been nominated for two Grammy Awards for his 2010 full-length album debut "My World 2.0," but his popularity has waned.