The price of chasing Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and other nightclub-hopping celebrities got steeper this week, at least for four paparazzi who were booked on charges arising from blocking sidewalks in West Hollywood.
The arrests, made by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies Tuesday night and early Wednesday, continued law enforcement efforts to crack down on aggressive paparazzi in the weeks since Spears was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. So many photographers, celebrity reporters and onlookers crowded the scene last month that patients and hospital staffers had trouble getting into the facility.
The intense scene led Los Angeles Police Department and sheriff's officials to say they planned to use existing laws to crack down on what they described as increasingly aggressive paparazzi.
Authorities said their tools include anti-loitering ordinances, traffic laws and rules targeting infractions such as illegally tinted windows or paper license plates.
On Tuesday night and early Wednesday, sheriff's deputies booked four photographers in two separate incidents of allegedly blocking sidewalks.
Deputies arrested David Tonnessen, 31, and Christian Shostele, 37, outside B2V Salon in West Hollywood shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday as they waited for Spears to finish inside the salon.
The men were among about 50 photographers, said sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore. The arrests came after the group refused deputies' requests over a loudspeaker to disperse, he said.
Tonnessen was taken to the West Hollywood sheriff's station, where he was ticketed for blocking an entrance, a misdemeanor, and released on $250 bail, authorities said. Shostele was cited for blocking a sidewalk and was released at the scene after posting $500 bail.
Deputies were first called to the salon more than an hour earlier and left believing that photographers were complying with their requests to keep the area clear. Whitmore said deputies then were called back to find the sidewalk blocked.
"They don't disperse. They don't listen to warnings," Whitmore said, adding that after the arrests were made the others cleared out.
About 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, two other photographers -- Christopher Gonzalez, 21, and Vagn Rauch, 23 -- were booked outside the West Hollywood nightclub Villa, again after they allegedly failed to keep a path clear for passersby and patrons.
Deputies at that scene began warning photographers to disperse shortly after midnight, again over loudspeakers.
