Justin Bieber was arrested on assault and dangerous driving charges stemming from an alleged fight after his ATV collided with a mini-van in Canada Friday, a police spokesman told CNN Tuesday.
The alleged incident happened on a road in Perth County, Ontario, the community where Bieber, 20, lived as a child.
“Investigation revealed that after colliding, the driver of the ATV and an occupant of the minivan engaged in a physical altercation,” Ontario Provincial Police spokesman Kees Wijnands said.
Bieber’s lawyer said the singer was being chased by people with cameras when the incident happened.
Bieber was enjoying a “peaceful retreat” at his father’s home when it was interrupted by paparazzi, the lawyer said.
Online photos showed Bieber and girlfriend Selena Gomez cruising on an ATV Friday.
Bieber, who is already facing an assault charge in Toronto, was released on “a promise to appear” and ordered to answer the charges at a hearing in Stratford, Ontario, on September 29, Constable Wijnands said.
The alleged victims of Bieber’s assault wasted no time in lawyering up against the singer. They hired Los Angeles lawyer Gloria Allred, who also represents a woman who complained to police that Bieber assaulted her at a Hollywood tourist spot when she tried to take a photo of him with her cell phone.
“This is a serious matter that could have an impact on Mr. Bieber’s probation status in California,” Allred said in a statement to CNN Tuesday. “I have also made contact on my clients’ behalf with the Hollywood Branch of the Los Angeles police department to make them aware of these new charges.”
The young singer is on probation in Los Angeles for a vandalism conviction that resulted from his admission that he egged a neighbor’s home last January. It would be up to a California judge to decide if the Canadian arrest warrants a probation revocation hearing, according to the spokeswoman for the Los Angeles prosecutor.
