Justin Bieber turned himself in to Toronto authorities on Wednesday and is facing an assault charge in connection with an incident that happened in December.
The 19-year old pop star was implicated in an attack on a limo driver in the early morning hours of December 30 after leaving a hockey game with several others.
“On Monday, December 30, 2013 at approximately 2:50 a.m., a limousine picked up a group of six people outside a nightclub in the Peter Street and Adelaide Street West area. While driving the group to a hotel, an altercation occurred between one of the passengers and the driver of the limousine. In the course of the altercation, a man struck the limousine driver on the back of the head several times,” reads a statement by police.
Authorities say the man who hit the driver was already gone by the time they arrived. Bieber, who was just arrested last week in California for drag racing while under the influence, is due back in court on March 10 in Toronto. His attorney, Howard Weitzman, says Bieber is not guilty of the assault charge.
“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 statement from Bieber’s rep said. “We anticipate that this matter will be treated as a summary offense, the equivalent of a misdemeanor in the United States.”
Bieber has had several run-ins with the law in recent weeks, including being served with a search warrant after a neighbor claimed he had egged his home, doing several thousand dollars worth of damage. During the investigation, police found cocaine in the pop star’s home and subsequently arrested rapper Lil’ Za, a friend of Bieber’s who had been staying with him. After drag racing on a residential street last week, Bieber was charged with resisting arrest, DUI, and driving on an expired license.
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