Egg On Their Face? Los Angeles County Investigators Focus On Justin Bieber's Light Bulbs After Egg Raid Fails
After Coming Up Empty On Search For Egg DNA Los Angeles County Sheriff's Investigators Turn To Legality Of Bieber's Incandescent Light Bulbs
Published January 18, 2014
Los Angeles (LBT) – When Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies raided Justin Bieber’s mansion on Tuesday, they were looking for eggs. Instead, they got lightbulbs.
Sherriff’s deputies took Bieber’s light fixtures when they used a felony search warrant to raid his mansion Tuesday morning, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Peter Thomas said. They were hoping to find eggs with DNA matching the ones used in an egging incident in Bieber’s wealthy, Calabasas, California neighborhood.
Apparently, the cupboard was bare. Not wanting “egg on his face,” Sheriff Lee Baca apparently told his deputies to find anything that would stick when they carried out the raid. Now Sheriff’s investigators are testing Bieber’s light bulbs to see if they violate the Energy Independence and Security Act (the “EISA”).
According to the Sheriff’s office, if Bieber used incandescent light bulbs manufactured in Canada – his home country – he could be prosecuted in a federal court.
“Importing incandescent light bulbs violates federal law and is a serious offense,” Sheriff Baca said in a statement. “These bulbs harm the environment and may even threaten our national security,” the statement said. Because Canada sells many of the same brands as in the U.S., investigators are testing the glass and filament to determine if they are foreign made or are domestic residual stock.
On Saturday, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies expanded their investigation by executing a search warrant on the home of Bieber’s assistant Filamena Watt. They took a suitcase from Ms. Watt’s home, but it is unclear what role this might play in the investigation.
Sources say that Bieber complained to members of his entourage about the unpleasant light put out by new environmentally friendly compact halogen and fluorescent bulbs. Bieber also reportedly said that the new bulbs created tinnitus – or ringing – in his sensitive ears. Such complaints might explain why law enforcement suspected that Bieber imported Canadian lighting elements.
If state or federal prosecutors press EISA charges against Bieber, he could be the first defendant charged under the statute which became effective on January 1. Beiber’s attorney, Thomas Roma, denied that Bieber used illegal light bulbs. “Justin may be a luminary of the entertainment world, he may light up the concert stage, and he may put a glow in the hearts of young music fans around the world, but he does not use illegal light bulbs,” he said to reporters outside his Beverly Hills office.
The alleged egg-tossing attack that gave rise to the raid happened on the evening of Thursday, January 9, in the exclusive double-gated “Oaks” community in Calabasas. “Oaks” is home to A-listers from entertainment and sports, including the mother and children of Michael Jackson.
