Charlie Sheen cuts a deal on assault charge

He once faced a felony rap, but now it’s beginning to look like “Two and a Half Men” star Charlie Sheen may not stay in jail for much longer than the average package vacation.

Sheen, who was arrested in Aspen, Colo., on Christmas for allegedly threatening his wife at knifepoint, has cut a deal in which he’ll plead no contest to third-degree assault and receive a 30-day sentence, according to TMZ, which did not cite any sources. With time already served, he could wind up spending just 17 more days in lockup.

The actor is due back in Aspen on Monday for a court hearing. TMZ said that he may begin serving his sentence immediately.

Aspen’s chief deputy district attorney, Arnold Mordkin, and an attorney for Sheen’s wife confirmed to the Associated Press that a plea deal had been made but declined to provide details.

It could be an anticlimactic end to a case that at one point threatened Sheen’s role on TV’s No. 1 comedy. The actor recently reached a deal with Warner Bros., the studio that makes the show, to reprise his role as roguish bachelor Charlie Harper. Because his jail time would coincide with the summer production break on “Two and a Half Men,” the show is unlikely to be affected. CBS declined to comment Tuesday, as did Warner Bros.

Sheen spokesman Stan Rosenfield also declined to comment on the jail-term report.

Laurie L. Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Law School, said that prosecutors appeared to be trying to find middle ground in this latest example of celebrity justice.

“They didn’t sweep it under the carpet,” she said of Sheen’s presumed punishment. “But they didn’t try to make an example of him either.”

scott.collins@latimes.com