Justin Bieber charged with assault
Posted January 29, 2014 5:33 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Toronto police have charged pop-star Justin Bieber with assault in connection with an altercation involving a limo driver in December.
In a scene that resembled a red-carpet frenzy, Bieber surrendered to Toronto police at 52 Division on Wednesday.
Bieber was at the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game on December 29.
It is alleged that 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 allegedly occurred between one of the passengers and the driver of the limousine.
It was reported that during the course of the altercation, a man struck the limousine driver on the back of the head several times,
The limo driver then stopped the vehicle and called police.
Scooter Braun, Bieber’s manager, took to Twitter Wednesday evening to ask people to “stop passing judgement” on a situation they did not understand.
He later tweeted that people to “be kind and hope for the best in people. not assume the worst.”
“We anticipate that this matter will be treated as a summary offence, the equivalent of a misdemeanor in the United States,” lawyers for the superstar said in a statement. “Our position is that Mr. Bieber is innocent.”
In terms of whether Bieber could face any jail time if convicted, Toronto criminal lawyer Joseph Neuberger told 680News that “depending on the seriousness of the assault, it may not be a sentence which would involve any jail [time].”
A court date has been set for March 10.
Last week, Bieber was arrested in Miami for allegedly drinking and driving.
Read the police report as well as a statement from Bieber’s lawyer below.
