Arrest Warrant Issued For Man, 23, Charged In Humiliating Theft Of Life-Size Justin Bieber Cutout Share

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A judge has issued an arrest warrant for the 23-year-old man accused of the terribly embarrassing theft of a Justin Bieber cutout from a Florida record store.

After defendant David Dowling failed to appear last week for a pretrial conference in Circuit Court, a judge directed sheriff’s deputies to arrest him, according to court records docketed Tuesday. Judge Mark Singer also ordered the forfeiture of Dowling’s original $120 bond, and ruled that Dowling be held in lieu of $2000 bond when he is rearrested.

Dowling was busted in August after he and an underage male crony allegedly swiped the life-size Bieber cutout from an F.Y.E. store in a Bradenton mall. After fleeing the store with the $34.99 Bieber likeness, the pair was busted by security guards who found them “hiding behind bushes on the exterior of the Mall.”

In a written police statement, an F.Y.E. “senior assistant manager” noted, “As I was coming back from my break the lady from Vitamin World came in to tell me someone stole my 'Bieber Standee.'” When confronted by cops, Dowling told cops, “We were just having fun holding Justin Bieber hostage.”

An example of a Bieber cutout is seen above.

When collared on the arrest warrant, Dowling will likely face a failure to appear charge (to go along with the original misdemeanor theft count filed against him for nicking the Bieber collectible).