Justin Bieber was arrested early Thursday morning after leaving a Miami Beach club, accused of drag racing through a residential neighborhood and DUI. Police allege the pop singer admitted to having beer, marijuana and prescription drugs in his system.
His blood alcohol level was .04. That level was illegal, because he is under-age. The standard for someone driving under the age of 21 is .02.
The singer spent the rest of the night in jail then appeared in a Miami courtroom early Thursday afternoon where a judge set bail at $2,500. Bieber stood silently in the courtroom dressed in a jail jumpsuit as his attorney spoke. ABC News confirmed that "because of Justin Bieber's high profile status," he received special treatment and had his hearing moved up when it should have been Friday. He posted bail and exited the courthouse a short time later, jumped up on a car and blew a kiss to a throng of fans as he left. A couple hours later, he was spotted by news helicopters riding around Downtown Miami in a black Escalade that eventually pulled into the lush Viceroy Hotel in Brickell.
Miami Beach police said Bieber was pulled over for speeding in a yellow Lamborghini and failed a field sobriety test. This is a first-degree misdemeanor, which could get him up to six months in jail and have his license suspended for six months.
But he may be eligible for a program for first-time offenders that reduces the charge to reckless driving, said defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh, who is not involved in this case. Florida has zero tolerance for underage drinkers and if the singer enters a program for first-time offenders, Bieber will have to steer clear of all drugs and alcohol, as was the case with actress Lindsay Lohan.
Miami Beach Police Chief Raymond Martinez told the Miami Herald that Bieber was incoherent at the time of his arrest. He had his hands in his pockets and resisted arrest without violence, the chief said, adding that the singer was driving with a Georgia license that expired at least six months ago.
Police allege that Bieber cursed out the arresting officer then admitted to having beer, marijuana and prescription drugs in his system.
A source told ABC News that Bieber was leaving SET Nightclub on Lincoln Road before he was arrested. After leaving the club, the musician's entourage had apparently used their cars to block traffic on Pine Tree Drive at 26th Street, a residential area, at around 4 a.m., creating a drag strip for Bieber, who was in a Lamborghini, the newspaper reported.
Bieber was taken to county jail for processing. Miami Beach Police Detective Vivian Hernandez added that under Florida law Bieber had to spend a mandatory eight-hour drying out period in lockup after a DUI arrest.
Police said that the other alleged drag racer, who was racing Bieber in a red Ferrari, was Khalil Amir Sharieff and he was also charged with DUI. The police report said the cars were going 55 to 60 mph in a residential zone posted at 30 mph.
It wasn’t so long ago that Justin Bieber seemed so wholesome. He was the 14-year-old Ontario, Canada, boy living with his single mom. His YouTube performance went viral and spawned a recording career that's sold more than 15 million records.
Like so many child stars, he had to come of age in the spotlight. It was not always easy -- tantrums, incidents with paparazzi.
But even as late as 2012, he sounded like he was a young man with a lot of control, as in this “Nightline” interview: “You gotta be responsible and you know as far as alcohol, don't drink and drive excessively. I think you have to be responsible.”
Then, things started getting weird. It was just months ago that Bieber reportedly fired most of his team, including crisis manager Wendy Feldman. The photo ops stopped being so positive ... Justin Bieber urinating into a bucket. Justin Bieber leaving a notorious brothel in Rio de Janeiro. Bieber painting graffiti on the side of a building.
And just this month, he was accused of egging his neighbor’s house. Is he a young man out of control?
“Justin Bieber does not get it,” said Howard Bragman, vice chairman of Reputation.com. “He is one of those celebrities who thinks he lives by a different set of rules. He thinks because he has money, bodyguards and power, that he is impervious to the traditional rules of society.”
Of course he's not the first young pop star to step out of line and into the spotlight for the wrong reasons.
Singer Chris Brown, for one, can’t seem to avoid it. First there was the 2009 domestic violence charges brought against him by his then-girlfriend Rihanna. Then a nightclub beef with rapper Drake. And just last fall, a fist fight outside a Washington hotel.
And Lohan has spent more time on tabloid covers than on the big screen since her once-promising acting career was derailed by a hard-partying, no-limits lifestyle. We're talking six separate trips to rehab and more time in courtrooms than Judge Judy.
“I think Lindsay Lohan has the same problems Justin Bieber does, failure to comprehend you are responsible for your own actions and live by the same rules as everyone else,” said Bragman. “Look at Lindsay and you see a lot of parallels -- a girl whose career was a rocket ship and now it's a dud, quite frankly.”
And while audiences have been gawking at the increasingly outrageous behavior of Miley Cyrus, industry watchers see something very different at play.
“Miley’s controversy was about her music,” said Bragman. “You look at Justin and Chris Brown, it’s never about their music. It’s about some of their moments where they are acting out. That's the big difference. You may disagree with what Miley did or how she did it, but she had a strategy and a purpose and plan and she executed it and that's the big difference.”
Corey Feldman, who grew up in Hollywood, as the star of “The Goonies,” spoke to “Nightline” about the tradeoffs of growing up in the limelight: “Child stars have nothing. They have nothing. They have no choice. I was never taught how to have a family. I was never taught how to raise a child because I wasn't raised properly. I was never taught how to care for somebody because I was never shown genuine love. I was shown business. This is what you do. Here's how you read a contract. I knew how to read a contract by 10 years old, but I didn't know what it meant for somebody to come in and tell me they love me and kiss me goodnight. That's a problem.”
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