Lawyer: Sheen to plead guilty to misdemeanor
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Charlie Sheen could work at a Colorado theater company by day and spend his nights in jail under a deal reached with prosecutors that calls for him to plead guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in his domestic abuse case, an attorney said Monday.
In exchange, prosecutors would drop criminal mischief and felony menacing charges stemming from an argument Sheen had with his wife on Christmas Day at an Aspen home where they were on vacation.
The deal calls for Sheen to serve a 30-day sentence and three months probation, said Yale Galanter, an attorney for Brooke Mueller Sheen.
A judge must still approve the agreement. A hearing set for Monday was continued until July 12.
Sheen was at the courthouse with his lawyer Richard Cummins, but neither offered any comments after the proceedings.
Lawyers met privately at the courthouse, with prosecutors asking a judge for more time to work out the deal. Pitkin County Chief Deputy District Attorney Arnold Mordkin didn't provide further details.
"We're going to need more time than available to complete the finer points," he said.
After the meeting, Galanter refused to say what had caused the delay but noted the work-release proposal wasn't a glitch.
"We were all extremely frustrated," Galanter said outside the courthouse. "Right now, we're really back at square one."
He wouldn't elaborate.
Galanter said Brooke Mueller Sheen remained supportive of her husband.
Prosecutors confirmed last week that Sheen had reached a plea agreement but released no details.
Neither Pitkin County prosecutors nor Sheen's attorney Richard Cummins immediately returned phone calls seeking further comment.
Sheen, the star of the hit CBS show "Two and a Half Men," previously pleaded not guilty to menacing, criminal mischief and assault charges. The menacing charge carries a prison sentence of up to three years.
During the jail term, Galanter said, Sheen would be released during the day so he can work at Theatre Aspen. He could leave the jail for work at 8 a.m. and would have to return by 8 p.m.
Paige Price, the theater's artistic director, said Sheen had agreed to work for free. His duties would include teaching a class for professional actors and possible fundraising for the nonprofit.
"We think it is community service in that it is a nonprofit," Price said.
Brooke Mueller Sheen approved the deal, Galanter said. She previously asked prosecutors to drop the charges against Sheen, but they refused, according to the lawyer.
He said prosecutors had offered a deferred sentence, whereby Sheen would plead guilty to a felony and charges would be dropped after two years, which is similar to the way other cases are resolved in Colorado.
Sheen has taken anger management classes and will present evidence showing he has completed a 36-hour course, Galanter said.
"They're both adults, and they have two beautiful babies together. I know they're working on it. I can tell you that no matter what happens, Charlie and Brooke will always be good friends," he said.
On Christmas Day, Brooke Mueller Sheen told police the actor had threatened to kill her after she told him she wanted a divorce. She said he straddled her on a bed with one hand on her neck and the other holding a knife.
Charlie Sheen told police he and his wife had argued but denied threatening her. He told officers they slapped each other on the arms and that he had snapped two pairs of her eyeglasses in front of her, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Sheen told police he was upset by the divorce threat. He previously went through a bitter divorce and custody battle with his previous wife Denise Richards.
Within a week of his arrest, Sheen and his current wife both said they wanted to reconcile. In February, they hugged in an Aspen courtroom after a judge modified a restraining order that had kept them from contacting each other.
Since the incident, both have completed alcohol rehab programs, and Galanter has said they've been sober for months.
It's not the first run in with the law for Sheen, the star of films such as "Platoon," "Wall Street" and "Hot Shots!" who agreed last month to return to "Two and a Half Men" for two more seasons.
In December 1996, he was charged with attacking a girlfriend at his Southern California home. He later pleaded no contest and was placed on two years' probation.
In 1998, his father turned him in for violating his parole after a cocaine overdose sent him to the hospital. He was ordered to undergo a rehabilitation program.
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