Justin Bieber assault charge dropped over limo incident

Prosecutors in Toronto, Canada, said Monday they have dropped an assault charge against Canadian pop star Justin Bieber in connection with an incident involving a limousine driver.

The withdrawn charge stemmed from an early-morning incident late last December, when Bieber and five other people were picked up by a limousine from a Toronto nightclub. Police alleged Bieber, 20, hit the limo driver several times in the back of the head.

Prosecutors said the charge was withdrawn because there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.

This was just one episode in Bieber's ongoing troubles with the law.

Bieber is due in an Ontario court Sept. 29 to fight new charges. Brian Greenspan, his Toronto lawyer, said last week that Bieber had been arrested Aug. 29 on charges of dangerous driving and assault following a collision between a minivan and an ATV that led to a physical altercation with a photographer. Greenspan said Bieber was near his hometown of Stratford, Ontario, on a "peaceful retreat" with actress/singer Selena Gomez -- that "was unfortunately disrupted by the unwelcome presence of the paparazzi."

Police said there were no injuries as a result of the collision, but could not say whether there were any injuries from the altercation.

Bieber had earlier been photographed on an ATV vehicle with Gomez, his on-and-off again girlfriend. Just days before the Ontario incident, Bieber's car was hit from behind by a vehicle driven by a photographer in Hollywood, California.

Last month, Bieber pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of careless driving and resisting arrest seven months after his arrest in Miami Beach, Florida, for what police initially alleged was an illegal street drag race. In a plea bargain, he agreed to an anger management course, a $500 fine and a $50,000 charitable contribution.

In July, Bieber pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor vandalism charge for tossing eggs at a neighbor's house in Los Angeles County. He agreed to pay more than $80,000 in damages, meet a number of other conditions and was sentenced to two years' probation.