A prank goes viral
With rumors swirling that the 19 year old singer was scoping out mansions for sale in the exclusive Atlanta neighborhood of Buckhead,several news outlets have been reporting on the community’s reaction to the news. One local radio station decided to have a little fun with it, staging a fake protest of Buckhead residents, reportedly picketing to keep Bieber out of their neighborhood.
The story was picked up as a factual story by several other publications, including a handful of national news outlets. Bieber was less than thrilled with the prank and took to Twitter, blasting the media.
“sad how media doesnt believe in fact checking anymore. report real things not fake things. wow [SIC],” he tweeted. “by the way…never even looked at that house. smh [SIC].”
DUI case postponed
Meanwhile, it was also revealed this week that Bieber has turned down a plea deal offered by prosecutors in his DUI and resisting arrest charges. The young star has been warned that he could face jail time if found guilty in a trial of the charges, offering to drop the charges if Bieber agreed to submit to random drug testing.
The deal would have required Bieber to submit to random drug testing at any time, anywhere in the world, at his own expense. Under the plea deal, he would also have to submit travel plans to the court, attend alcohol education courses, complete community service and install an ignition interlock device for three months.
Bieber rejected the deal, reportedly out of fear of violating the terms of probation. Other young stars, such as Lindsay Lohan, have made a habit of violating their probation agreements.
Last week Bieber’s legal team was also busy fighting the release of a video of Bieber giving a urine sample at the Miami Beach police station following his DUI arrest. In Florida, once evidence, including videos and photos, has been submitted to the defense, they become part of the public record.
The Miami judge will review the video evidence and announce a decision on March 4. Bieber’s DUI trial was set to begin March 3 but will be postponed until further notice.
Legal woes pile up
But the trouble didn’t end there for Bieber. While at an amusement park in Atlanta, one of Bieber’s security guards and a driver were arrested for the theft of a photog’s camera.
While waiting for the singer to emerge from the park, a member of Bieber’s security team got into a tiff with a photographer. The security guard reportedly grabbed the photog’s camera, jumped into the Escalade and told the driver to drive off.
The photog followed the Escalade to the home of rapper Dallas Austin, where Bieber is staying. The security guard and driver were arrested for felony theft.
Birthday week
Amidst all of his recent troubles, however, Bieber was looking forward to his upcoming birthday this weekend. He tweeted his birthday wish on Monday:
“bday week. wish the world would learn to believe in the goodness in people and be kind to one another. together we can change the world 🙂 [SIC]”
