March 28, 2000 09:40am
Judge Says Charlie Sheen Paid Debt to Society
Source: APBnews
by: Christian Boone
(MALIBU, CA) -- After years of legal run-ins, notorious skirt chasing and highly publicized bouts with drug addiction, it appears Hollywood bad boy Charlie Sheen has cleaned up his act.
A Malibu judge today cleared the 34-year-old actor of the remaining 71 days of probation he received for a 1996 attack on his then girlfriend. Just last September, Judge Lawrence Mira saved Sheen from jail time after he violated his sentence by overdosing on illegal drugs.
In a turnaround, the judge commended Sheen for apparently winning a battle with his demons. Malibu District Attorney Martin Herscovitz sought to have the Platoon star complete the remainder of his probation, though he, too, made note of Sheen's progress.
Upcoming TV role cited
"He's received all positive reports," Herscovitz said, adding it is not uncommon for a judge to end probation early if a defendant shows such progress. Still, Herscovitz would have preferred if Sheen had received more treatment.
"Drug problems are so difficult to beat; I feel the most incentive a court can deliver is for the best," he said.
Mira made note of Sheen's new role replacing Michael J. Fox on the ABC sitcom Spin City, saying he hoped the actor could be a "role model" for youth.
"It's nice to have a second shot ... a second chance," Sheen told KNX radio in Los Angeles. "They say that success tasted the second time around is so much sweeter. I find I'm tasting that."
Violence and porn stars
The victim of Sheen's attack was Brittany Ashland, a former girlfriend and porn actress who has appeared in a small number of films such as Girls and Guns and Behind the Blinds.
The 1996 incident is not the only one in Sheen's life involving violence and adult movie performers. Sheen settled a lawsuit earlier this year in which his bodyguard had been accused of assaulting Charlese L'Amour and Teri Starr.
Sheen's attorneys claimed that the pair had entered his property unlawfully and had declined to leave before the incident occurred. No criminal charges were filed. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
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