Update!

Justin Bieber Pleads Not Guilty to DUI in Miami—but He's Getting Charged With Assault in Toronto!

New charge stems from alleged Dec. 29 incident involving his entourage and a fight with a limo driver following a hockey game

By Natalie Finn Jan 30, 2014 2:47 AMTags
Justin BieberGeorge Pimentel/WireImage

So apparently Justin Bieber was just headed home. Like, home-home.

Less than a week after getting arrested in Miami, the 19-year-old is back in his native Canada following a jaunt down to Panama—and he has run smack back into legal trouble.

Bieber is being charged with assault in connection with an alleged attack on a limo driver that involved his entourage after Bieber attended a Toronto Maple Leafs game on Dec. 29.

Toronto police confirm to E! News that Bieber arrived to turn himself, was finger-printed and had a mug shot taken, and then was released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall on March 10 at 11 a.m., local time.

"The Toronto Police Service requested that Justin Bieber appear in Toronto today to face an allegation of assault relating to an incident on December 29, 2013," a lawyer for Bieber said in a statement released to E! News. "We anticipate that this matter will be treated as a summary offense, the equivalent of a misdemeanor in the United States.

"Our position is that Mr. Bieber is innocent. As the matter is now before the Court, it would be inappropriate to address the specifics of either the allegation or of our defense at this time."

Per Toronto Police, a limousine picked up six passengers, including Bieber, outside a nightclub at 2:50 a.m. on Dec. 30. It's alleged that, during the ride, an altercation occurred between one of the passengers and the limo driver and, during the fight, a man struck the driver on the back of the head several times. The man who supposedly did the striking then left before police arrived.

Meanwhile, an attorney reportedly pleaded not guilty via a written plea on Bieber's behalf to driving under the influence, resisting arrest and driving with an expired license stemming from last week's Miami bust.

An arraignment is also scheduled for Feb. 14, but because the charges are all misdemeanors, Bieber was not required to appear in person.

Practically hours after being released on bail, Bieber gathered his entourage—which on this trip included Chantel Jeffries, the model riding in the car with him when he was arrested—and jetted to Panama for some R&R.

 

Splash News

He was seen at the airport yesterday about to catch a flight out of the Central American country with manager Scooter Braun.

And now we know where he went.

—Reporting by Lindsay Good, Marc Malkin and Holly Passalaqua

(Originally published Jan. 29, 2014, at 4:04 p.m. PT)