Judge Denies Bail Request for Brando’s Son : Slaying: Actor says Christian Brando is innocent. Attorney says suspect had been drinking at time of ‘tragic accident.’

Actor Marlon Brando sat stony-faced as a judge refused impassioned pleas from attorneys to release his son, Christian, on bail Tuesday and ordered that he remain in jail to face a murder charge.

Municipal Judge Rosemary Shumsky made her ruling after nearly an hour of legal arguments.

“The court finds there is no basis for setting bail in this case, and it’s going to remain no bail,” she said.

Marlon Brando sat in the front row of the courtroom, staring straight ahead as his son was brought in handcuffed and wearing a blue jail uniform. The two did not acknowledge each other as cameras clicked, flashbulbs went off and deputies attempted to keep order in the jammed, tiny courtroom.

William Kunstler, the civil rights attorney who was summoned by Marlon Brando to defend his son after a shooting at the Brando estate last week, argued that it was an accident and that Christian Brando was drunk at the time.

Kunstler presented affidavits from friends and neighbors, including actor Jack Nicholson, who attested to the younger Brando’s good character.

The attorney stressed that Marlon Brando would never help his son flee the country nor give him refuge at a home the actor owns in Tahiti.

“His father is not going to help him (flee) in any way. He wants this process to go on,” Kunstler said.

Christian Brando, 32, a welder and tree trimmer, was arrested last week after police received an emergency telephone call from the elder Brando and rushed to his hilltop estate. They found the body of house guest Dag Drollet, 26, who had been shot. Drollet was the boyfriend of 20-year-old Cheyenne Brando, Christian’s sister.

Marlon Brando did not speak during the hearing. After the ruling, the actor stood before TV cameras and said he believed his son was innocent. But much of his statement was devoted to the tragic consequences for his family and the family of the victim.

“We see on the television and read in newspapers things that are unpronounceably sad,” Brando began. “The messenger of misery has come to my house. He has also come to the house of Mr. Jack Drollet in Tahiti and we must stand up to it.”

He was referring to the father of the shooting victim.

“To those people who have known this kind of tragic circumstances in the world . . . no explanation is necessary, and to those people who do not know the nature of this acute misery that both our families suffer, no explanation is possible,” Brando said.

“My son has been denied bail. He has had his day in court and we will abide by that. The decision will be appealed. I believe my son to be innocent of the charges brought by the county prosecutor.”

He also expressed thanks to the news media, which he said, “could have turned this into a circus” but instead “have been responsible and reasonable in their presentation for the most part.”

As he left, Brando was asked to describe his feelings.

“There’s no way to describe it to you unless you’ve gone through it in your life. We must just be strong, and the family, with love and supporting each other, will prevail.”

Christian Brando initially told police he shot Drollet during an argument involving alleged abuse of his pregnant sister, Cheyenne.

Kunstler immediately issued statements that the killing was an accident in which a gun went off during a struggle.

But in court Tuesday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Steven Barshop told the judge that pictures of the body as well as the investigation indicate otherwise.

“There was a contact wound and decedent was shot while seated,” Barshop said. “The shot is at a 45-degree angle. Decedent is holding a TV changer and a Bic lighter, negating any struggle.

“This case is a criminal homicide.”

Kunstler responded that he disputes Barshop’s account of the evidence and insisted, “This is a tragic accident.”

Another of Brando’s attorneys, Ronald Kuby, told the judge that the younger Brando had an alcohol problem in the past and has been through a detoxification program. He said Christian Brando was willing to go through another similar program if released.

Kunstler said that Christian Brando’s blood-alcohol reading two hours after the shooting was .19%, which he called “one of the highest blood-alcohol contents I’ve seen in a case of this kind.”

The lawyers pleaded with the judge not to penalize Christian Brando for his famous heritage.

“Christian Brando is not a famous person, not a public person,” Kuby said. “He happens to have a famous father. I beg you to treat him as you would any other person without the Brando name.”

The scene outside the courtroom was chaotic. Fans, photographers and reporters struggled to get seats inside the small courtroom. The judge had an order posted on the courtroom door forbidding members of the media from congregating outside.

The judge scheduled the next hearing for June 11, which she said would be for setting a time for the preliminary hearing.