Police Recommend Justin Bieber Be Prosecuted For Spitting Incident; Bieber Faces Possible Six Months In Jail For Battery Charge

The L.A. County Sheriff's Office is reportedly urging the District Attorney to have Justin Bieber prosecuted on a battery charge in relation to the alleged spitting incident with his neighbor last March. Battery charges are punishable by up to six months in jail in the state of California.

Bieber was confronted by his neighbor about racing his Ferrari through their gated community at three-digit speeds while children were coming home from school. The singer allegedly ordered the neighbor off his property, spit in his face and said, "I'm going to f**king kill you!"

Although spitting is a prosecutable offense and battery charges are punishable by up to six months in jail, the sheriff's office does not think Bieber needs to be locked up. Law enforcement officials told TMZ that they will likely recommend mandatory counseling in light of Justin's increasingly bad behavior. They are reportedly worried that further aggressive incidents from the singer will result in consequences like "getting his a** kicked" or "someone's gonna get a $2 million payday."

However, a district attorney would only be able to prosecute Bieber if there were solid witnesses and proof available. In other words, "your word against mine" isn't going to cut it. The other accusations of assault against Justin also can't be used as part of an argument in court.

The Sheriff and D.A. could also ask to speak to Bieber as part of an investigation, but he's not required to conduct an interview in this case. "He would be insane to give a statement to the police about this. No good can come from it," said criminal defense expert Tony Slaten.

The case is expected to wrap up by the time Bieber begins the second U.S. leg of his world tour, which starts on June 22 in San Diego. He is currently in South Africa performing two shows in Cape Town and Johannesburg.