Mercedes stolen from Charlie Sheen’s garage
Troubled actor Charlie Sheen had left his Mercedes-Benz in his open garage with the keys in it when it was stolen and later found crashed in a ravine off Mulholland Drive, police said Friday.
The 2009 Mercedes four-door sedan was found badly damaged about 350 feet down from Mulholland Drive about two miles from Sheen’s home in a gated community in Sherman Oaks.
After an extensive search on foot and by helicopter, rescue crews did not find a driver or passengers in the vicinity of the stolen car.
Los Angeles fire and police officials learned the car had been in an accident just after 4 a.m. when the Mercedes’ electronic security system automatically notified them. After locating the vehicle, they discovered it was Sheen’s and went to notify him.
Meanwhile, Sheen had also received an alert from his car’s security system and reported a burglary to the police, who responded to the report about 5 a.m.
Los Angeles police said the car was probably abandoned by the burglars, who had stolen items from other garages in the neighborhood. Nothing else from Sheen’s home was reported stolen, said Officer Bruce Borihanh of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Another luxury car stolen from a nearby neighborhood was discovered off the side of the road about 200 yards from where Sheen’s car had been found, police spokesman Richard French said.
The 2009 silver Bentley coupe was reported to police about 1:45 p.m. by a press photographer.
French, who called the Bentley’s appearance “highly coincidental,” said it was unclear if the car was stolen by the same thieves.
Sources said police ruled out any domestic dispute in the Sheen incident after interviewing the actor and his wife, who was out of state.
The “Two and a Half Men” star is set to appear in a Colorado courtroom Monday, when Pitkin County prosecutor Arnold Mordkin will announce whether he will file charges in a domestic abuse case stemming from a Christmas Day incident in Aspen.
Police arrested Sheen on Dec. 25 on suspicion of second-degree assault, menacing and criminal mischief. According to an affidavit, Sheen’s wife, Brooke Mueller, said Sheen had pinned her to a bed and held a knife to her throat as he straddled her.
The couple, who have been married for two years and have twin boys, had been arguing early Christmas morning when Mueller threatened to divorce Sheen and take the children, the affidavit said.
Sheen was released from Pitkin County Jail on $8,500 bail that evening and ordered not to consume alcohol and maintain distance from his wife.
Sheen’s attorney in Aspen, Richie Cummins, said Sheen requested and was granted permission to visit his wife in late January when she was hospitalized in Sherman Oaks with a surgery-related infection.
Sheen had previously pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of battery with serious bodily injury for a 1996 incident in which he was accused of knocking then-girlfriend Brittany Ashland to the floor.
Mordkin would not say whether he had decided to file charges against Sheen.
“I have the complete panoply of possibilities,” he said.
