Justin Bieber has been informed that a paparazzo plans to sue him over the alleged theft of a camera memory card.
An emailed letter was sent to the pop star through his manager, Scooter Braun.
An attorney representing Gustavo Garces, a paparazzo, contacted Braun demanding the return of his client’s memory card as part of evidence-gathering in a lawsuit they are preparing against the singer, TMZ reports .
The new lawsuit stems from an alleged incident involving Garces, Bieber, and his bodyguards at the Hit Factory recording studio in Miami, Florida.
Garces claims his camera was taken from him by Bieber’s bodyguards, on the orders of the singer, after he took candid pictures of the pop star outside the studio at around 4 am on June 5.
A purported audio of the alleged incident was posted on TMZ’s website on June 6. On the tape, an instruction from a man the website claims is Bieber talking to his bodyguards says :
“Grab that camera! Get that f_king camera out of here!”
On the audio, a man, purportedly Garces, is heard pleading as his camera is allegedly taken from him.The same voice is then heard asking for the return of the camera and offering to delete photos taken.
At that point, a voice [which the website claims is Bieber] responds saying:
“Alright, alright. I’m gonna give you your camera back. I’m gonna take your SIM card though.”
Garces’ lawyer also warned Braun and Bieber [Click here to read the letter] not to tamper with the memory card, adding that there would be “dire consequences” for altering evidence.
The incident is one of three allegedly involving Bieber and his security and three separate photogs during a Miami visit earlier this month.
Jeffrey Binion, who is also a photog, is suing the pop star and one of his bodyguards, Hugo Hesny. He claims his memory card was stolen and that he was “choked” and “strangled” by Hesny during an assault ordered by Bieber, after he took photos of the singer without permission at the same studio later on June 5.
In addition, another incident reportedly took place following a Miami Heat-Pacers basketball game Bieber attended with friends on June 4. When a local photographer snapped the singer after the game, he was reportedly approached by the Canadian’s security and asked to delete the photos.
The matter was apparently resolved when a sports arena guard stepped in.
Bieber was recently cleared of any wrongdoing in an alleged hit and run outside the Laugh Factory comedy store in Los Angeles on Monday night. After the singer left the club with his friend, rapper Lil Twist, his white Ferrari was surrounded by paparazzi who refused to move out of the road while they took pictures.
When Bieber was eventually able to drive away, he inadvertently hit a paparazzo standing in the road filming with his Ferrari. Los Angeles police have since spoken to all the parties involved and determined that no crime was committed.
It’s been reported that authorities believe the fault lay with the photographer for standing in the road.
According to TMZ, Bieber told the police he was unaware he had hit anyone as he left the comedy club.The singer has been cleared of all wrongdoing in the incident.
Yesterday, the 19-year-old star appeared to express frustration about the paparazzi presence in his life, writing on Twitter:
“sometimes u just wanna go to a comedy club and have a laugh. no trouble. just want to laugh.”
[ Image via Coventry Telegraph ]