Justin Bieber already had a rough 2013, and now 2014 doesn't appear to be shaping up to be much better. On January 14, authorities swarmed his California mansion to execute a search warrant connected to an investigation over a reported egg-throwing incident. It was just the latest in Bieber's troubles ...
Right before 2014 kicked off, Bieber threatened to retire after a spate of bad publicity, including being accused of everything from speeding to spitting. The news made the Beliebers very sad but turned out not to be the case.
On New Year's Day in 2013, a photographer was killed crossing the street after taking pictures of Bieber's Ferrari. Bieber, who wasn't present at the scene, said in a statement: "While I was not present nor directly involved with this tragic accident, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim."
In January 2013, Bieber was photographed holding what TMZ identified as marijuana. He poked fun of the incident when he hosted "Saturday Night Live" in February. "I also heard he got busted for smoking weed and he's really sorry about it and that people make mistakes and that he's never going to do it again," Bieber said while playing a character during a skit with Vanessa Bayer.
At the end of January 2013, a Twitpic appearing to show the singer touching a female fan's chest went viral. Both the "Belieber" and Bieber's rep denied he was touching her breast.
Unfortunately for Bieber, his 19th birthday in March was kind of a downer. After being snubbed by the Grammys, Bieber headed for London to celebrate his big day. But it ended up being what he tweeted was his Not only was he ragged on by actress Olivia Wilde for going shirtless in the city, he also had a bit of beef with a "weak a** club."
Bieber ticked off his fans in March after he showed up a reported two hours late to a concert at London's O2 Arena. He disputed that in a tweet, however, saying he was only 40 minutes behind schedule.
Bieber later wound up sick in a London hospital. Being a lusted-after star, it's not surprising that he tried to show how "well" he felt by posting a shirtless photo of himself online.
Bieber and photographers, we've learned by now, don't mix. As he exited the hospital at the end of his turbulent week, the singer got into a shouting match with a paparazzo in London, telling the photographer that he'd "f*** him up."
After he was ragged on by Wilde for going topless in London, Bieber strolled through a Polish airport terminal sans shirt on March 25.
Bieber lost his pet monkey, Mally, when the capuchin was taken by custom officials in Germany at the end of March. Mally is shown here in the quarantine station at the Munich-Riem animal shelter in Munich.
In April, Bieber visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam -- and was promptly criticized for saying that he hoped the teen, who died in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945, would have been a "Belieber." Visitors to the Anne Frank Facebook page had plenty to say. "Glad he went, but, the last sentence is VERY self serving. he missed the lessons of Anne totally," wrote one observer.
In May, a fan rushed Bieber on stage and attempted to grab him during a concert in the United Arab Emirates. Later that month, a safe in a stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, was raided after a Bieber performance.
May didn't end on a high note, either. As Bieber accepted the Milestone Award at the Billboard Music Awards, "very loud boos" competed with "very loud cheers," the magazine reported.
In June, another chapter was added to Bieber's history book of driving drama. The singer was reportedly involved in a Los Angeles accident involving a pedestrian.
A leaked video in July seemed to show Bieber relieving himself in a janitor's mop bucket and then spraying a photo of Bill Clinton with what appeared to be a cleaner fluid while saying, "F*** Bill Clinton." Bieber later apologized to the former president, but personalities like Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali had a field day.
Was he saving his energy for his fans, or just courting more controversy? In October, the day after a concert in Beijing, Bieber was snapped letting his bodyguards carry him up the stairs at the Great Wall of China.
While on tour in early November, Bieber yet again made headlines, this time with some sex-related scandal. The New York Post's Page Six alleged that Bieber had been spotted exiting a brothel while in Brazil. Then, a YouTube video sparked gossip that he'd done something less than innocent with the young woman featured in the clip. Bieber's camp has had no response on the chatter.
- Deputies took Bieber's phone when they raided his mansion Tuesday
- Bieber shouldn't worry about nude photos or "drug talk" text, detective says
- "It's just the egg matter," detective says
- Lil Za tweets: "the media is making me someone I'm not"
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Justin Bieber's iPhone is being searched for clues about his alleged involvement in an egg attack on his neighbor's house, a detective told CNN Thursday.
Sheriff's deputies took Bieber's personal smart phone when they used a felony search warrant to raid his mansion Tuesday morning, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. David Thompson said.
The sheriff's technical crew, which is also examining security video seized in the search, are looking for any evidence of Bieber "bragging or making fun of" the incident, Thompson said.
Bieber should not worry about any nude photos or "drug talk" that may be among his text messages, he said. "It's just the egg matter."
"We're looking for anything that has to do with this particular incident," the detective said.
The security video system in Bieber's mansion could be the best witness to alleged egg attack. "It was extensive," Thompson said of the system. "I believe it was installed very well and covered all areas of Mr. Bieber's house. His security system was well operated." Deputies seized the computer that recorded the video, he said.
The alleged egg-tossing attack happened on the evening of Thursday, January 9, in the exclusive double-gated Oaks community of Calabasas, California. It is home to A-listers from entertainment and sports, including the mother and children of Michael Jackson.
Deputies at the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station, which serves an affluent section of Los Angeles County just east of Malibu, have become familiar with Bieber, 19, since he moved into a $6.4 million home two years ago.
Neighbors have dialed 911 several times to complain that the teenage multimillionaire was speeding down their residential streets in his high-performance cars. One neighbor accused Bieber of spitting in his face during a heated confrontation last March. Deputies have responded to complaints about loud parties at Bieber's place.
Except for warnings, nothing was done. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office concluded that they couldn't prove the spitting or speeding cases in court, so they declined to prosecute.
Prosecutors also rejected a misdemeanor battery complaint from a photographer who accused Bieber of attacking him in the parking lot of a Calabasas shopping center as he was taking photos of Bieber and his then-girlfriend, Selena Gomez, in May 2012.
"We didn't do this search warrant to send a message," Thompson said Tuesday. "That's not what we do, but we hope maybe that understanding the gravity of this will change some of the behavior."
If detectives find evidence that Justin Bieber attacked his neighbor with eggs, they will present their findings to the district attorney for possible prosecution. This could happen in a few days or weeks, Thompson said.
The estimated $20,000 in damage to the neighbor's house would make it felony vandalism, which could carry prison time.
Lil Za's lament
Bieber house guest Lil Za -- a 20-year-old rapper whose real name is Xavier Smith -- is steaming over the media attention and legal troubles that followed his abrupt awakening Tuesday morning.
Deputies found suspected illegal drugs "in plain view" of Lil Za when they entered his bedroom in Bieber's home, Thompson said. He was arrested on a felony drug charge. To make his bad day worse, he was also charged with felony vandalism after allegedly busting the telephone in the jail while he was waiting to be bailed out.
Za tweeted this Thursday: "Honestly, the media is making me someone I'm not. But only those in my shoes can relate. ... These ppl get paid to make you look bad. Some stuff I've done has been wrong yes. but look at the position I'm in and the color of my skin. Cocaine? Really? All this time I was home in tx nobody gave a f--k about what Za is doing ..soon as he gets to La he's all over the news."
Thompson initially said the Texas native was found with cocaine, but later said the drugs were suspected to be Ecstasy -- aka Molly -- and Xanax.
