Sheriff's Dept. Serves Search Warrant at Justin Bieber's Calabasas Mansion

By City News Service

Update 4:40 p.m. About a dozen sheriff's investigators swept through Justin Bieber's home today as part of a follow-up probe into allegations that the 19-year-old singer threw eggs at a neighbor's residence.

Bieber was not arrested, but another person who was in the home was taken into custody on suspicion of drug possession.

Sheriff's officials said the egg-throwing case was considered a potential felony because around $20,000 in damage was done to the neighbor's home.

Last Thursday at 7:40 p.m., deputies went to the 25000 block of Prado Del Grandioso to take a report from a man who told deputies that his neighbor -- Bieber -- had thrown raw eggs at his house, according to Sgt. Dan Negelmann of the sheriff's Malibu/Lost Hills Station.

The case at first was classified as a possible misdemeanor, but sheriff's officials said it was elevated to a felony because more than $400 damage had been done to the home.

"It's a felony crime," sheriff's Lt. Dave Thompson said. "I mean, I get that it was done with eggs (and) that makes you feel that it's a lower- level crime, but a felony crime is a felony crime no matter how you commit it. And this crime rose to the felony section and a judge signed a search warrant saying that we should go an get evidence related to the felony crime."

Thompson said about 12 investigators were involved in the search, which began around 8 a.m. He declined to specify exactly what they were searching for, but added, "it doesn't take much of a stretch of the imagination to know security video in these times helps us with a lot of things."

According to Thompson, there were about seven or eight people inside Bieber's home when investigators arrived. He said everybody in the home was cooperative, but one person was arrested on a "narcotics violation," saying the person was apparently in possession of cocaine.

Bieber "was not connected to that cocaine other than the gentleman was staying at his residence," Thompson said.

The man was not immediately identified. Thompson said the cocaine "was in plain view of the deputies when they were looking for the other evidence."

Thompson defended the use of a dozen investigators to serve a warrant relating to an egg-throwing case.

"In these types of situations we don't know what we're going to confront," Thompson said. "Mr. Bieber, of course, is cooperative in most cases, however, we don't know who's staying at the house and we don't know who may be under the influence of anything. So it's always better to err on the side of safety. ... Again, we did contact seven or eight people in the house, so I was thankful we had 12."