Another delay in Justin Bieber's Fla. DUI case
MIAMI - Justin Bieber's lawyers and Florida prosecutors said Wednesday they need more time to work out a possible plea deal on charges that the pop star drove under the influence and resisted arrest.
Assistant State Attorney David Gilbert and Bieber attorney Mark Shapiro asked for an additional three weeks. Miami-Dade County Judge William Altfield reset the matter for Aug. 5.
Gilbert said at a brief hearing the two sides would inform Altfield on that date how the plea negotiations are progressing "and set a trial date, if necessary." He gave no other details, and Shapiro also would not get into specifics. Bieber did not attend the hearing.
"It's pretty much status quo," Shapiro said.
Bieber was arrested early Jan. 23 in Miami Beach after what police described as an illegal street race between Bieber's rented Lamborghini and a Ferrari driven by a friend, R&B singer Khalil Amir Sharieff. Neither was charged with drag racing.
Alcohol breath tests found Bieber's level below Florida's 0.02 limit for underage drivers but urine tests showed the presence of marijuana and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in his system. Bieber was also charged with resisting arrest and driving on an expired license. Sharieff is also charged with DUI.
Earlier this month, Bieber resolved another criminal case by pleading no contest to a misdemeanor vandalism charge for throwing eggs at a neighbor's house in Los Angeles. In that case, Bieber agreed to pay more than $80,000 in damages and meet a number of other conditions.
Bieber is also charged in Toronto with assaulting a limo driver in late December. His lawyers have said he is not guilty in that case.
Back in Miami, Bieber is being sued by a photographer who says he was roughed up while snapping pictures of the singer outside a recording studio.
The Canadian-born Bieber shot to stardom at age 15, after initially gaining notice through YouTube videos. He was nominated for two Grammy Awards for his 2010 full-length album debut "My World 2.0," but his popularity has begun to wane.
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