Plea-deal Sheen will work for local theatre

Charlie Sheen could work at a Colorado theatre company by day and spend his nights in jail under a domestic violence plea deal, a lawyer said today.

The deal reached with prosecutors calls for the 44-year-old actor to plead guilty to a misdemeanour assault charge in the case.

In exchange, prosecutors would drop criminal mischief and felony menacing charges stemming from an argument Sheen had with his wife Brooke on Christmas Day at an Aspen home where they were on holiday, said Yale Galanter, a lawyer for Mrs Sheen.

The deal calls for Sheen to serve a 30-day sentence and three months’ probation, the lawyer said.

A judge must still approve the agreement and a hearing set for yesterday was delayed until July 12. Lawyers planned to meet in Aspen today to discuss the case, Mr Galanter said.

Sheen was at the court with his lawyer Richard Cummins, but neither offered any comments after the proceedings.

Lawyers met privately at the court, with prosecutors asking a judge for more time to work out the deal.

Mr Galanter said Mrs Sheen remained supportive of her husband.

Prosecutors confirmed last week that Sheen had reached a plea agreement but released no details.

Sheen, star of the hit CBS TV comedy 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, Mr Galanter said, Sheen would be released during the day so he could work at Theatre Aspen. He could leave the jail for work at 8am and would have to return by 8pm.

Paige Price, the theatre’s artistic director, said Sheen had agreed to work for free. His duties would include teaching a class for professional actors and possible fund raising for the nonprofit.

“We think it is community service in that it is a non-profit,” Ms Price said.

Mrs Sheen had approved the deal, Mr 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 had taken anger management classes and would present evidence showing he had completed a 36-hour course, Mr 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, Mrs 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.

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 glasses in front of her, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

He told police he was upset by the divorce threat. He 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 court after a judge modified a restraining order that had kept them from contacting each other.

Since the incident, both have completed alcohol rehab programmes, and Mr Galanter said they had been sober for months.

It is not the first run-in with the law for Sheen, the star of films such as 'Platoon', 'Wall Street' and 'Hot Shots!'

In December 1996, he was charged with attacking a girlfriend at his Southern California home. He later pleaded no contest and given two years’ probation.

In 1998, his actor father Martin turned him in for breaking his parole after a cocaine overdose sent him to hospital. He was ordered to undergo a rehabilitation programme.