Drug bust at Justin Bieber home: Tests to determine substance
Officials will not know for sure what kind of drugs were found in Justin Bieber’s home until tests are conducted to determine whether it was Ecstasy, cocaine or another substance, sheriff’s officials say.
The drugs were seized Tuesday as authorities served a search warrant at the singer’s Calabasas home. Originally, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said it was cocaine, but later said it was undetermined.
“You have to analyze any evidence to see what comes forward,” spokesman Steve Whitmore said Tuesday. “It may not be that particular narcotic.”
Whitmore said it is more likely the substance was Ecstasy or Molly, a synthetic stimulant marketed as a pure form of MDMA, the main ingredient in Ecstasy.
“Let’s just wait and see, but we’re fairly certain it’s a controlled substance,” Whitmore said.
Detectives seized the drugs and arrested one of Bieber’s associates. They said the drugs were found “in plain view.”
Detectives served a felony search warrant looking for “video surveillance or other relevant evidence” after one of Bieber’s neighbors reported that his house had been egged.
Sheriff’s officials said the incident had been classified as a felony because the homeowner reported the value of the damage to his house at $20,000.
“I get that the eggs don’t seem that significant, but it does rise to the level of a felony,” Lt. Dave Thompson said Tuesday.
A dozen detectives searched Bieber’s home beginning at 8 a.m., Thompson said. During the search, eight people, including the singer, were detained inside the home.
In last Thursday’s incident, a neighbor called authorities to the 25000 block of Prado del Grandioso, saying that someone was pelting his home with eggs. The neighbor was home with his daughter at the time and witnessed the incident. Authorities said they didn’t know what might have prompted the egging.
Thompson said Bieber is a suspect in the incident.
“The investigation is ongoing. He was not arrested, nor exonerated at this time,” he said.
richard.winton@latimes.com
joseph.serna@latimes.com
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