Charlie Sheen, star of the sitcom Two and a Half Men, spent Christmas Day in jail after his wife, Brooke Mueller Sheen, called police alleging she had been assaulted. The 44-year-old actor was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and menacing, which carry a potential 12-month prison sentence, as well as criminal mischief.
The incident occurred at the couple's rented home in Aspen, Colorado, after they began drinking on Christmas morning. Police allege Sheen grabbed his wife by the throat and pushed her violently. An ambulance was called, but Mueller was not taken to hospital. Both were given blood alcohol tests at the scene. Sheen claimed Mueller was the aggressor and he was defending himself, but he was taken to Pitkin County Jail, where he was held for eight hours before being released on $8,500 (£5,325) bail.
Sheen's attorney, Richard Cummins, cautioned against rushing to judgment: 'I think at the end of the day it will be much ado about nothing. I don't think there's any criminality about what went on.' His publicist, Stan Rosenfield, also urged people not to jump to conclusions.
Sheen married Mueller, a former actress and real-estate investor, in May 2008 shortly after his bitter divorce from actress Denise Richards. The couple have twin boys, Bob and Max, but their relationship has become strained since the birth, with Mueller renting a house in Aspen three months ago while Sheen remained in Los Angeles.
This is not the first time Sheen has faced such allegations. In 2005, Richards filed for divorce citing drug and alcohol abuse and threats of violence. In 1996, he was arrested for attacking a girlfriend and pleaded no contest, receiving two years' probation. He also accidentally shot his then-fiancée, Kelly Preston, in the arm in 1990.
A court date has been set for 8 February 2010. Sheen, whose real name is Carlos Estevez, is the son of actor Martin Sheen and has a reputation as a 'bad boy', with his character Charlie Harper loosely based on his own womanising and heavy-drinking exploits.
