A swarm of Britney Spears' omnipresent shutterbugs has just been swatted by the cops.
Four paparazzi were arrested Wednesday and booked for reckless driving after Los Angeles police witnessed firsthand the dangerous lengths lensmen go to to chronicle the singer's every move.
At roughly 11:20 p.m. in Mission Hills, California, police pulled over a fleet of paparazzi-powered vehicles, all of which were hot on Spears' trail, after spotting the pack driving evasively at high speeds, following the singer's car too closely and making a series of unsafe lane changes. A quartet of her pursuers was arrested on the spot and booked into Van Nuys jail.
Which, apparently, was not quite the desired result.
LAPD officers also pulled over Spears, who was behind the wheel of her white Mercedes-Benz at the time. She was briefly interviewed and released after the police verified her hard-earned California driver's license.
However, Spears' constant sidekick Sam Lutfi told E! News' Ryan Seacrest Thursday morning that the singer, who has a well-documented affinity for certain members of the paparazzi, did not want to see the four photographers carted away.
Lutfi said that while speaking with cops, Spears tried to prevent the paparazzi from getting arrested, though the officers didn't take to the celebrity intervention.
But while the night was over for four of Spears' shutterbugs, it was still young for the "Gimme More" warbler herself.
Spears and Lutfi continued on with their late-night excursion, making a pit stop at a Studio City grocery store, which she left at roughly 1 a.m. with a cartful of bagged goods.
After switching rides from the Benz to a black Escalade, sources tell E! News that at roughly 2 a.m. (a timeline since disputed by Lutfi), the duo headed over to the trendy Beverly Hills boutique Kitson.
The store, which closed hours earlier, opened solely for Spears and her burgeoning entourage: Lutfi, security man Mark Chinapen, who orchestrated the late-night logistics, new hanger-on Chad Hardcastle and Danish fashion executive Claus Hjemblak, who owns the Scandinavian Style Mansion where Spears celebrated her birthday last month. Curiously absent from the mix was paparazzo pal Adnan Ghalib.
What happened between the arrival of the Spears crew at the boutique for some retail therapy and the time she left an hour later is still up for debate.
Sources told E! News that the singer, who was shielded throughout her excursion by Chinapen, walked around the store naked save for a pair of fishnet stockings, before making off with $30,000 worth of comped designer goods. But a representative for Kitson adamantly disputed that Spears was given the clothes for free.
Both the store rep and Lutfi also said Thursday that the singer never went native during her spree
"No, that never happened," Lutfi told Seacrest via phone from Spears' home.
"We all went shopping, I think we went a little crazy. We all got something," he said, adding that the trip came about out of "mostly boredom."
Hardcastle, the newest addition to Spears' fleet of rotating pals, was also present at Spears' home Thursday morning. As for his role in the high-profile entourage, Hardcastle told Seacrest he was "still trying to figure it out myself...we're all in love here...No, just a friend of Sam's."
Spears also made a cameo during the phone call—briefly speaking to Seacrest from her bedroom shower.
"Get out, I'm naked, get out!" the suddenly modest celeb yelled. "I stink, 'cause I'm a human being. Shut the door, I'm nasty."
Lutfi then addressed the most recent round of rumors to plague Spears, starting with the paparazzi snaps of her and Ghalib perusing pregnancy tests at a Los Angeles Rite Aid this week.
"I don't know what the hell that was," he said. "I don't know if they even bought one. I think they were just f---king around."
Asked if Spears actually thought she was pregnant: "No, no, no, no, no, no."
Lutfi also denied ramped-up tabloid reports that the pop star was looking to settle down with Ghalib, saying she does "not at all" want more kids right now and that it's "not true" she had plans to tie the knot with her paparazzo suitor.
As for the kids she has with Kevin Federline, Lutfi said she will see them "hopefully very soon" despite court orders to the contrary.
"She's just got some appointments and doctor meetings, you know, that she's got to handle...Everything's fine. She's back on track. She's handling it."
—Additional reporting by Ken Baker