MIAMI BEACH, FL -- When he debuted five
years ago, Justin Bieber was a mop-haired heartthrob, clean cut and charming.
But a series of troubling incidents have put his innocent image at risk, and
none more so than his arrest on DUI charges Thursday.
Police say they arrested a bleary-eyed
Bieber - smelling of alcohol - after officers saw him drag-racing before dawn
on a palm-lined residential street, his yellow Lamborghini traveling at nearly
twice the speed limit.
The 19-year-old singer later admitted
smoking marijuana, drinking and taking a prescription medication, police say.
Unlike previous episodes, this arrest has him facing potential jail time.
Bieber was charged with DUI, driving
with an expired license and resisting arrest without violence. His Miami-Dade
County jail mug shot showed the singer smiling in a bright red inmate jumpsuit,
his hair still stylishly coiffed.
He was arrested with R&B singer
Khalil Amir Sharieff, after police say they raced two luxury vehicles down the
street at 4:09 a.m., with two other vehicles apparently being used to block off
the area.
Police Chief Ray Martinez said the
singer was initially not cooperative when the officer pulled him over. Martinez
said the singer also had an expired Georgia driver's license.
Police said Bieber was driving the
Lamborghini and Sharieff was driving a Ferrari. Both cars were towed. Police
say Bieber was clocked at 55 to 60 mph in a 30 mph zone near a high school,
youth center, golf course, city firehouse and small apartment buildings.
According to the arrest report, Bieber
"had slow deliberate movements" and appeared to be in a stupor when
the officer ordered him to exit his vehicle. Bieber was arrested after
repeatedly refusing to put his hands on his vehicle so the officer could pat
him down to look for weapons, the report said. It says he cursed several times
at the officer and demanded to know why he was being arrested. At one point,
Bieber said to an officer: "What the f--- did I do, why did you stop
me?"
Bieber failed a field sobriety test and
was taken to the Miami Beach police station for a Breathalyzer, police said.
Results haven't been released.
"I think this case will proceed
hopefully as any other case would proceed," said Bieber's attorney, Roy
Black, whose other celebrity clients have included Rush Limbaugh and William
Kennedy Smith.
Under Florida law, people under the age
of 21 are considered driving under the influence if they have a blood-alcohol
content of 0.02 percent or more - a level the 5-foot-9, 140-pound star could
reach with one drink.
For a first DUI offense, there is no
minimum jail sentence and a maximum of six months, a fine of $250 to $500, and
50 hours of community service. For anyone under 21, there is an automatic
six-month license suspension.
A Miami-Dade County judge set Bieber's
bond at $2,500 on Thursday afternoon. Sharieff's bond was set at $1,000 for a
DUI charge.
Bieber left jail about an hour after
court, popping through a window of his black SUV in a black hoodie and
sunglasses to wave to crowds of reporters and young girls waiting to see him.
He reportedly spent far more money at a Miami strip club Monday night, when the
King of Diamonds club tweeted that Bieber ordered $75,000 in dollar bills. The
club's operator later acknowledged that was an exaggeration, and that the
singer only stayed about an hour.
Bieber and his large entourage were
escorted to a closed-off section of the club. They enjoyed the dancers and
ordered a large amount of bottled water, but no alcoholic beverages were sold
to them, said Ricky "Disco Rick" Taylor in a statement.
"He had a lot of fun," Taylor
said. "We hope he returns again."
The Canadian-born Bieber was only 15
when his platinum-selling debut "My World" was released. The singer
from Ontario had placed second in a local singing contest two years earlier and
began posting performances on YouTube, according to his official website. The
videos caught the attention of a talent agent and eventually led to a recording
contract.
He was positioned as clean-cut and
charming - even singing for President Barack Obama and his family at Christmas
- but problems began to multiply as he got older.
Bieber has been accused of wrongdoing
in California but has never been arrested or charged. He is currently under
investigation in a felony vandalism case after a neighbor reported the pop star
threw eggs at his house and caused thousands of dollars of damage.
A neighbor had previously accused
Bieber of spitting in his face, and a paparazzo called deputies after he said
Bieber kicked him, but prosecutors declined to file charges in either instance.
He was also accused of reckless driving in his neighborhood, but in October
prosecutors refused to seek charges because it was unclear whether Bieber was
driving.
His arrest in Miami is unlikely to
affect the egg-throwing investigation, which included nearly a dozen detectives
searching Bieber's home last week searching for video surveillance and other
evidence that could be used to pursue a vandalism charge.
Bieber is also being sued by a former
bodyguard who says the singer repeatedly berated him, hit him in the chest and
owes him more than $420,000 in overtime and other wages. The case is scheduled
to go to trial in Los Angeles next month.
Bieber's arrival in Florida earlier
this week also is under investigation. Authorities in the suburban Miami city
of Opa-locka are investigating whether the singer was given a police escort
when he landed Monday at the Opa-locka Executive Airport.
Police escorts from the airport are not
uncommon, but they must follow procedure because they involve city vehicles,
Assistant City Manager David Chiverton said. Administrators had not authorized
any escort for Bieber in this case.
"There's a procedure,"
Chiverton said. "These things must be approved, there's a process."
Despite all his legal troubles, the
charges against Bieber likely won't put him at risk of being deported or denied
entry into the U.S., said immigration attorney Ira Kurzban.
According to U.S. immigration law,
authorities do not revoke an individual's visa unless the person has been
convicted of a violent crime or has been sentenced to more than one year
imprisonment.
