Justin Bieber Bodyguard Indicted On Two Felony Charges In Paparazzo Incident

Justin Bieber bodyguard’s, Hugo Hesny, has been indicted on two felony charges after he admitted taking the camera of a paparazzo in an incident in Atlanta, Georgia, last month.

Hesny was indicted in Fulton County Superior Court on Tuesday.

He faces charges of robbery and entering a vehicle, the Associated Press reports.

Jason Winslow, the photographer in the case, told police he was trying to take photographs of Bieber outside the Funhouse arcade in Sandy Springs on February 25 when Hesny told him to stay away.

The paparazzo alleges Hesny then chased Winslow’s vehicle, cut him off, opened the door of Winslow’s vehicle and swiped his camera.

When police were called to the scene, Hesny initially told them he hadn’t taken the camera but it was discovered shortly after in an SUV belonging to Bieber’s crew.

The bodyguard maintains he only wanted to delete Winslow’s pictures of Bieber outside the arcade.

Sandy Springs police stated Bieber was not involved in the incident in a press release at the time.

One unplanned consequence of the incident led to cops discovering “small pipes commonly used to smoke marijuana” inside a Cadillac Escalade that was part of Bieber’s convoy.

“Due to the small amount, no charges were filed related to the marijuana,” police said.

Bieber has been staying in Atlanta since early February and has been renting the home of music producer Dallas Austin.

The 20-year-old has now returned to his native Canada while he records part of his new album.

As for Hesny, the indictment is just the latest legal entanglement he is involved in.

The 32-year-old is accused of battery by Miami paparazzo Jeffrey Binion who claims the bodyguard grabbed him in a choke hold, threw him against a wall after he spotted taking pictures of Bieber outside The Hit Factory recording studio in Miami on June 5, 2013.

Hesny pleaded not guilty to the Florida charge on January 20 and is awaiting an April 9 Miami court hearing in that case, according to Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts records.

Back in November, Hesny was captured on film kicking the car doors of a paparazzo who was following a convoy of vehicles thought to be carrying Bieber and his friends in Sydney during the last leg of the singer’s Believe world tour.

The incident was filmed as it happened by the paparazzo, Australian news site Nine MSN reported at the time.

The paparazzo claimed Hesny used a knife to slash one of his cars tires. However, that alleged attack was not shown on camera and is not confirmed.

In the case of the Atlanta camera theft Hesny is now on bond, AP notes.