Charlie Sheen’s lawyers have laid bare their defense strategy in the “Two and a Half Men” star’s domestic violence case: a one-two-three punch to throw the evidence out.
In a Motion filed on April 2 and first reveled by TMZ, Sheen’s lawyers want to suppress any statements their client made when officers arrived at his Aspen residence on Christmas Day in response to a 911 call from his wife Brooke Mueller.
On the call, Mueller claimed the actor was welding a knife and threatening to kill her. Mueller also said that her husband was about to leave the residence.
But the motion says that Sheen, who the documents say felt “he was not free to leave” by officers when they arrived at the house and spoke to him, was never read his Miranda rights.
Long story short, anything Sheen said to the Aspen police that night is, in the opinion of his lawyers, inadmissible.
Richard Cummins, Sheen’s attorney, says the next move is up to the Aspen district attorney.
“I think procedurally, the DA will respond in due time and then we'll see what the next steps are,” Cummins told TheWrap on Wednesday.
The actor, arrested under his given name of Carlos Irwin Estevez, was charged with menacing, a class five felony; criminal mischief, a class one misdemeanor; and second-degree assault, a class four felony. The latter was reduced to third degree assault in a Feb. 8 court hearing.
On March 15, the 44-year old Sheen, who has had numerous run-ins with the law over the years since he rose to fame in the mid-80s, pleaded not guilty to all the charges. A trial is scheduled to begin on July 21.
It might be a long hard road getting there for the Aspen DA.
Further attempting to shackle the DA’s ability to introduce evidence, the sit-com star’s lawyers have requested the personnel file and any internal investigation of Officer Valerie McFarlane, who interviewed Mueller twice about the incident on Dec 25. McFarlane, who is expected to be called to testify on what she saw and heard, was fired from the Aspen Police force on Feb 26.
The defense claims “circumstances … give rise to legitimate questions regarding her character for truthfulness.”
Furthermore, in a widely worded motion for discovery, Sheen’s attorneys claim “that the prosecution in this case has in its possession and control information that is exculpatory.” In other words, they want all of it, including “any and all attempts on the part of the alleged victim to supplement her statement,” disclosed.
Here's why this all matters: If the court agrees that what Sheen said can’t be used; that McFarlane can’t testify; and what Mueller said really happened, upon reflection, was not what she claimed in the 911 call; then the DA has got precious little to go on.
“I don't think the DA is going to turn around and dismiss the charges based on our motion,” Cummins told TheWrap, laughing.
“However,” the lawyer continued in a much more circumspect vein, “what we are trying to do is prepare our client's case for trial and this is part of the discovery process. At this point, it doesn't mean anything more or anything less than that.”
The district attorney did not respond to a request for comment on the defense’s filing Wednesday.
They will likely have to respond in court next week. Deputy District Attorney Arnold Mordkin, who is handling the prosecution, will be joining Cummins for a status conference on the case at 9 a.m. local time on April 19 before Ninth Judicial District Court Judge James Boyd.
A date for a hearing on the defence’s motion will probably be set at that time.
Sheen, who temporarily left “Two and a Half Men” and entered a rehab facility as a “precautionary measure” on Feb. 23, could face up to five years in prison if found guilty.
He recently completed his seventh season of the hit CBS sitcom and is reportedly considering not returning to “Two and a Half Men” next year.
