Oops, Now Britney's Lost Her Car

[January 09, 2008]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- It was just another night on the town Monday, and then another headline in the tabloids on Tuesday, for Britney Spears after the pop star had her car towed away and her visit to a high-end hotel triggered a scuffle between a photographer and a security guard.

The scuffle resulted in police being called to the Four Seasons Hotel near Beverly Hills about 90 minutes after they had a private towing company haul Spears' car away. But Officer Karen Smith said the pop star wasn't to blame for the Four Seasons dust-up.

"She was leaving the hotel when one of the paparazzi and a security guard at the hotel had a scuffle," Smith said.

Police took a battery report but the photographer had left the hotel by the time officers arrived and no one was arrested. The hotel's head of security did not respond to a message for comment.

Police said Spears left her 2008 Mercedes-Benz on busy Sunset Boulevard, near the University of California, Los Angeles campus, about 8 p.m. Monday because of a flat tire.

"She left it unattended and it was blocking traffic, so it was towed," Smith said.

It was unlikely Spears would be ticketed because the car was disabled, but police said she would have to pay a towing and impound fee to get it back. The vehicle was taken to Quicksilver Towing, where an employee who answered the phone Tuesday said he didn't know if it was still there.

"We had several Mercedes towed last night," he said, adding storage charges are $35.20 a day.

According to the celebrity Web site TMZ.com, Spears caught a ride home from a member of the horde of paparazzi who follow her everywhere. Then it was off to the Four Seasons.

The car and hotel incidents were only minor bumps in the road for Spears, who is involved in a bitter, public custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline over the couple's sons, 1-year-old Jayden James and 2-year-old Sean Preston.

Spears was hospitalized last week after an hours-long standoff at her home that was triggered by the custody battle. The next day, a court commissioner gave sole physical and legal custody of the boys to Federline and suspended Spears' visitation rights.

[Associated Press; By JOHN ROGERS]

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