Justin Bieber is only 11 days into his “great 2014” and has already been named as a main suspect in a vandalism investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The teen star has been accused of egging his neighbor’s house in a Thursday, January 9 incident in Calabasas, Calif.
Los Angeles County sheriff Sgt. Dan Nagelmann of the Malibu/Lost Hills station confirmed Bieber’s neighbor called the police at around 7:40 pm claiming someone was throwing eggs at his home.
Responding deputies reportedly saw no-one outside when they arrived to take a report, the Los Angeles Times notes.
If culpable, the 19-year-old faces a misdemeanor vandalism charge.
However, that could be upgraded to a felony if the property damage exceeds a certain monetary value, according to the Sheriff’s department.
The neighbor reportedly claims over $400 worth of damage was caused.
“It’s currently under investigation and [Justin Bieber] is a named suspect,” Lieutenant Jennifer Barsh of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. told People .
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In a shaky, partially dark video posted by TMZ and filmed from inside the neighbor’s home, F-bombs are traded between the householder and an unseen male — allegedly Bieber, who reportedly continued to hurl eggs — before the accuser’s 13-year-old daughter is told to call the police and is heard doing so in the clip.
The video is now part of other video material and photographs booked into evidence.
According to the website, the neighbor has had previous run-ins with Bieber and is certain the singer trespassed onto his property to throw eggs . He claims no less than 20 ova were smashed against his house.
As of Friday, Justin had not yet been questioned by police.
“It was about 7:30 pm. and I was in my house upstairs with my daughter,” the neighbor told E! News . “We began to hear something hitting the house, like rocks and things crashing into the window. We went to our outside balcony and saw [Justin] standing in my front yard, ripping eggs at my house.”
He added, “I screamed at him, he yelled back at me, said, ‘Yeah I got another one for you,’ and threw more eggs. Then I called the sheriff. Obviously my daughter was very frightened having eggs thrown at her. It was unprovoked as I have not seen the kid in months, so I have no idea what prompted him to do this.”
That may not be true, as this Twitter snapshot appears to suggest.
Criminal Defense Attorney Troy Slaten told E! he believes prosecutors are likely to press charges, which could include trespass, if the case can be proven because of prior alleged incidents and tensions between Bieber and residents in the gated Calabasas community.
“It would be wise for Justin to lay low and play nice with the neighbors,” Slaten said.
Given the pop prince’s Achilles heel — his impulsiveness and a temper — it is to be hoped he does exactly that.
As yet Bieber’s representatives have not commented on the egging allegation.