Spector’s Confession Challenged

Famed rock music producer Phil Spector was suffering withdrawal symptoms from seven prescription drugs when he admitted he had accidentally shot a companion at his Alhambra mansion in 2003, his defense lawyers said in court papers obtained Wednesday.

Attorney Bruce Cutler argued in the documents that police didn’t warn Spector that his statements could be used against him in court, where he now faces trial in the slaying of actress Lana Clarkson.

Spector “was experiencing symptoms of withdrawal from his medications, which could include hallucinations, forgetfulness, serious fatigue, and/or slurring,” Cutler wrote in his defense brief.

Cutler asked Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry P. Fidler last week to throw out Spector’s incriminating statements. After the music producer was taken into custody at his home, “his requests for this medication were either refused or ignored by Alhambra police officers,” Cutler asserted.

Spector was taking Prevacid, Klonopin, Loxitane, Prozac, Topamax, Neurontin and tetracycline at the time, according to defense motions.

Prevacid is used to treat excessive stomach acid. Klonopin is for seizures. Loxitane, like Prozac, is an anti-depressant. Topamax prevents migraines. Neurontin is for seizures and pain management. Tetracycline is an antibiotic.

Cutler, defense co-counsel Roger J. Rosen and Deputy Dist. Atty. Douglas Sortino, who is prosecuting the case, declined to comment on the new defense argument.

Prosecutors have until Oct. 21 to formally respond.

Spector, 64, has pleaded not guilty to killing Clarkson and is free on $1-million bail. He faces life in prison if convicted. No trial date has been set but the judge has asked attorneys to be ready for trial by January.

When Alhambra police arrived at Spector’s home on Feb. 3, 2003, they detained Spector and then found Clarkson’s body in a chair in the foyer.

Transcripts of the Alhambra police interrogation show that Spector first told an officer at the scene that: “I’m sorry this happened. The gun went off accidentally.”

A second officer also heard Spector say that he didn’t mean to shoot Clarkson and that it was an accident, although defense attorneys argued that no other officers in the vicinity heard Spector make such a statement.

But later, Spector insisted she had committed suicide. At one point, those transcripts state Spector derided Clarkson for going to his house and “blowing her brains out.”

The biggest challenge for Spector’s defense attorneys will be contending with multiple witnesses who say they heard Spector make incriminating statements about the shooting.

Spector’s driver, Adriano De Souza, told a 911 dispatcher that the producer had told him that he killed the woman, according to transcripts of the call. De Souza told the operator, “I think my boss killed somebody,” adding that he heard a shot, saw Spector with a gun and saw a woman’s body on the floor.

In grand jury testimony, De Souza said Spector stepped out of his house minutes after the shot and admitted killing Clarkson.

In the latest filings, Spector’s lawyers also sought to exclude evidence of the 14 guns seized from Spector’s home and the record producer’s past misdemeanor convictions for brandishing a firearm and carrying a firearm in public.

Prosecutors are seeking to show that Spector had a pattern of threatening people with guns. In May, Fidler ruled that four women who said they had been threatened could testify.