'Nothing has been presented yet, but there is a possibility it will be,' says a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County D.A.'s office.
By Gil Kaufman
<P><a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/bieber_justin/artist.jhtml">Justin Bieber</a> may end up having his day in court if police decide to refer his case of <a href="/news/articles/1685942/justin-bieber-paparazzo-criminal-battery.jhtml">criminal battery</a>
 to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office for possible criminal prosecution.</P><P>Though a spokesperson for the D.A.'s office told MTV News on Tuesday (May 29) that nothing has been presented yet, that doesn't mean action isn't coming. "There is a possibility it will be," said spokesperson Shiara Davila-Morales. <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/29/justin-bieber-battery-paparazzo-prosecutors/" target="_blank">TMZ</a> reported that the case will be referred for possible prosecution after Bieber was allegedly involved in an altercation with an unnamed paparazzi photographer on Sunday afternoon in the parking lot of a mall in Calabasas, California. Citing unnamed sources, the site reported that police investigating the case have already decided to refer the case to prosecutors, even though they are still in the midst of the investigation.</P><P>In addition to witnesses, the police are eager to interview Bieber, 18, who has been unavailable so far because he is on a promotional jaunt to Norway.</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="MTV First: Justin Bieber" id="id:1684329" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P><P>Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesperson Lieutenant Margarito Robles told MTV News that the investigation is ongoing and that there was no update on its progress at press time. He also noted that a large percentage of these kinds of cases do get presented to the D.A.'s office, where it is left up to prosecutors to decide how, or if, to proceed.</P><P>Bieber is a suspect in a criminal battery investigation after he got into it with the photographer, who was reportedly attempting to snap a shot of Bieber when a physical altercation took place between them.</P><P>The photographer called 911 after the incident, but when the police arrived Bieber and girlfriend Selena Gomez had already left the scene. The camera man was transported to a local hospital by ambulance after complaining of pain in his upper torso and released a short time later. He filed a police report naming Bieber as the culprit and police are now investigating the incident as a misdemeanor battery case and are looking to speak to Bieber, Gomez and other witnesses. It has not yet been reported what injuries the photog allegedly suffered or what took place during the scuffle.</P><P>A spokesperson for Bieber had no comment on the incident. According to TMZ, if Bieber is charged and convicted, he could face up to six months in jail. But, given the chronic overcrowding in Los Angeles jails and a federal mandate to ease that overpopulation, it's unlikely that the singer would spend much time behind bars if convicted.</P><P><center><a href="http://www.mtv.com/photos/?fid=1617615"><img src="http://www.mtv.com/news/photos/s/spotted/banner/spotted.jpg"></a></center></p>
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