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Justin Bieber: ‘He’s Innocent,’ Says Legal Team Of Assault Charge

By Page Mackinley
Published on: 16:14 PST, Jan 29, 2014

Justin Bieber’s legal team have issued a statement of innocence over an alleged criminal assault charge involving a limousine driver, after the singer turned himself in to police on Wednesday night (January 29) in Toronto, Canada.

Howard Weitzman, a lawyer for Bieber released a statement to E! News after the star met with police.

It read: “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,”

The statement went on to add: “We anticipate that this matter will be treated as a summary offense, the equivalent of a misdemeanor in the United States. Our position is that Mr. Bieber is innocent.”

“As the matter is now before the Court, it would be inappropriate to address the specifics of either the allegation or of our defense at this time.”

Bieber turned himself in to Toronto police Wednesday evening after emerging from a black SUV.

The 19-year-old was dressed in a leather and faux fur winter coat and a backward ball cap and escorted through a scrum of press and screaming fans by several police officers linking arms to guide him through the crowd, and a bodyguard, CBC News Canada reports.

The outlet added the teen star exited the police station through a back door around two hours after his arrival.

In a later news release, punched out at 21:41 (local time) Wednesday, the 52nd division of the Toronto Police Service addressed the specifics of the charge.

The release said the assault charge arose over an alleged incident on Monday, December 30, 2013 at approximately 2:50 am, in which a limousine picked up a group of six people outside a nightclub in the Peter Street and Adelaide Street West area.

It’s alleged while driving the group to a hotel, an altercation sparked between one of the passengers and the limousine driver.

The limousine driver alleges a man struck him on the back of the head several times, after which the driver stopped the limousine, exited the vehicle and called the police.

Police said the man who struck the driver left the scene before police arrived.

Bieber was booked for assault at the 52 division police station and is scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall Monday, March 10, 2014, 11 am room 111.

Meanwhile, there are developments in the pop prince’s other legal challenges.

Justin has pleaded not guilty to charges of DUI, resisting arrest without violence, and driving with an expired license in Florida.

According to the Associated Press (AP), court records reveal Bieber’s attorney, Roy Black, filed the written plea Wednesday in Miami-Dade County.

Bieber was set an arraignment court date of February 14, but under Florida law the singer did not have to attend.

Defense attorney Mark Shapiro told AP a decision on whether Justin will attend has not yet been made.

The “Baby” star and his pal, singer Khalil Amir Sharieff, were both arrested for suspected DUI after they were stopped on a residential street during what police described as an illegal street drag race between a yellow Lamborghini (Bieber) and a red Ferrari (Sharieff).

Neither driver was charged with drag racing.

Miami police say Bieber was “belligerent” during his arrest and allege the singer admitted to smoking marijuana, drinking a beer, and taking a prescription medication.

The singer was released from a Miami-Dade county jail on a $2,500 bond that Thursday.

It has since been revealed Bieber’s blood-alcohol levels in two breath tests taken at a Miami police station were estimated at 0.014 and 0.011, which is under Florida’s 0.02 legal limit for under 21?s.

It has also been revealed Sharieff had a zero alcohol in his blood. However, further tests results for other substances are being worked up and will reveal whether the pair were high

As regards a felony vandalism and assault investigation by Los Angeles police related to the egg-throwing attack at Bieber’s neighbor’s house, a prosecutor from the District Attorney’s office has asked Sheriff’s to continue investigating as police found no evidence linking the singer to the incident — which took place January 9 – on home security video seized from his Calabasas, California, home.

Bieber left a summit meeting, which was also a holiday, with Braun and his mentor Usher in Panama, Central America, on Tuesday on a flight bound for Los Angeles.

Somewhere in between, he arrived in Toronto to turn himself in to police to be charged for assault, which his lawyers say he is innocent of.

Bieber’s manager, Scooter Braun, tweeted two stark messages on Wednesday urging the public not to prejudge and also admonishing criticisms of the singer’s parents, Pattie Mallette and Jeremy Bieber.

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