CALABASAS, California (CNN) — Justin Bieber’s California mansion resembles a frat house, according to a detective who searched it last week.
“Why you in my house, bro?” Bieber asked after a dozen deputies woke him up at 8 a.m. on January 14, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. David Thompson told CNN Friday. He detected “a little sense of entitlement” from the 19-year-old pop star, although he said Bieber was cooperative.
Bieber didn’t use foul language, Thompson said, as he allegedly did with police in Miami when he was arrested there early Wednesday.
Deputies had a search warrant to look for evidence connected to an egg assault on a neighboring mansion five days earlier, which caused damage that will cost at least $20,000 to repair, Thompson said.
“The house does operate much like a fraternity house and much of the same stuff that’s done there is going to be done across the country,” Thompson said. “But the house next door is usually another fraternity house. It’s not usually a mansion that can sustain this damage.”
Bieber has decorated the living room of his $6.5 million home with ping pong and pool tables, a Ms. PacMan video game and a basketball free-throw machine, Thompson said. The main feature of his back yard is a skateboard ramp covered with spray-painted graffiti.
“It was kind of like a fraternity house, but no signs of drugs,” Thompson said, contradicting some media reports that deputies overlook evidence of illegal drug use. “I walked through every room of the house. I was the third person through the door. So, it’s not hearsay. I didn’t see any of that.”
A deputy did find suspected illegal drugs at the bedside of Bieber house guest Lil Za — real name Xavier Smith. Lab tests returned to investigators Friday confirmed one of the drugs in the 20-year-old rapper’s possession was MDMA — also known as Molly or Ecstasy, Thompson said. Lil Za has been charged with a felony drug charge.
“If there’s other things, such as drugs, that are right there in plain view, then we’re going to deal with that as well, which we did,” he said. “But our goal in going in there was the security video.”
Detectives seized the computer that controls the extensive security video system protecting Bieber’s sprawling estate. What it recorded the night of the alleged egging will be shown to prosecutors next week as they decide if Bieber should be charged with felony vandalism, he said.
“I believe there was some things captured on the video,” Thompson said Friday. “We’re going over that right now. We will probably be done with that, I’m assuming, today. We will then have a dialogue with the district attorney.” It will be up to the prosecutor to decide if the egg attack evidence justifies a felony vandalism charge against the singer.
Bieber’s ‘wake up call’
The knock on Bieber’s door last week was “quite a wake-up call,” Thompson said. “And he needs a wake-up call.”
Deputies have responded “numerous times” to complaints by Bieber’s neighbors about loud parties, fast driving and even an incident in which Bieber allegedly spat on a neighbor. But no charges have ever resulted.
“We don’t do search warrants to send messages, but make no mistake, we hope that messages are received,” Lt. Thompson said. “We do search warrants to collect evidence, but this is a person who’s been wreaking havoc on the neighborhood, who’s been operating, basically, with impunity because he hasn’t spoken to us in the past about anything that went on.”
Bieber apparently didn’t take the warning to heart, based on the druken driving arrest in Miami Wednesday, Thompson said.
The exclusive Oaks community in Calabasas is home to the rich and famous, including Michael Jackson’s mother and children. Britney Spears previously lived on the same street that Bieber moved to nearly two years ago.
“People move to that neighborhood — which is a gated community — for the peace, quiet, and tranquility that it provides,” Thompson said. “So, Mr. Bieber’s past actions of loud parties, driving too fast, large numbers of people there, egging and what not are way out of character for anyone that lives in that neighborhood.”
The sheriff’s department’s goal is “to try to improve the quality of the neighborhood and make sure people get the help that they need,” he said. “In some cases, that help is jail time. In some cases, that help is a wake-up call.”
