I was just reading Radaraonline's article on Rick Manguson, the Aspen cop who busted Charlie Sheen after responding to the 911 call at the couple's rented home on Xmas Day.

I wrote about Manguson during his unsuccessful run against the much-beloved Aspen Sheriff, Bob Braudis. The town dodged another bullet, in my view, when Bob got re-elected.

Here's two of his more inappropriate and borderline ethically-challenged stunts I learned about.

Update: TMZ has obtained a copy (which it posts here) of the affidavit for Sheen's arrest and it's got some ugly allegations.

The Aspen Police Department has released the 911 call placed by Charlie Sheen's wife on Christmas morning in which she alleges he had a knife. You can listen here.

She tells the operator the knife was a pocket-type knife he kept in his back pocket. She says he's in the bathroom, she's in the kitchen, her family is present, and then says he was trying to get out of the house but hasn't left. Then the police arrived. She sounds upset (and sniffley) and keeps repeating "I have to file this report." As has previously been reported, the call was at 8:34 a.m. and her BAC was .13 while his was .04, and she later recanted her story about the knife.

My detailed first post on Friday suggesting some kind of weapon was involved, based on the specific charges he was arrested on, is here. The DA is not expected to decide whether to file charges until February 8, Sheen's next court appearance. [More...]

As I wrote last night, the charges for which actor Charlie Sheen was arrested signal the use of a deadly weapon.

Now, ET says the Aspen Police Department spokeswoman has confirmed that some kind of weapon was allegedly involved. TMZ and OK report the same.

I'm calling first dibs. The question now: Was he trying to get the weapon away from her or was he threatening her with it? Given his lawyer's statement that he believes it will be shown that no criminality was involved, his wife's BAC being over the legal limit while his wasn't, and his wife's refusal to continue speaking with police, I won't be surprised if he's ultimately cleared. The Aspen District Attorney has not yet decided whether to file charges and has this to say:

“I am hearing the same rumors as you are hearing about Ms. Mueller being the aggressor, but I don’t have that evidence yet,” Mordkin speaks of Charlie’s wife to OK!, “I do know she is not speaking to the police for now. She may be compelled to cooperate.”

But, what if her testimony would incriminate her with respect to falsely reporting a crime? Surely, her lawyer would tell her to take the 5th at that point, unless she's granted immunity. If that happens, and it's still a big "if", her cooperation would help clear him.

The Aspen Daily News recounts Charlie Sheen's bail hearing (background here) and continues:

It is not clear how Sheen spent his Christmas at the Pitkin County Jail, where he was held for several hours, but jailers indicated that prime rib was served for lunch and cornish hen was eaten for dinner. The meals, as they always are, were prepared by Aspen Valley Hospital. Additionally, inmates were given phone cards so they could call their loves ones and an artificial Christmas tree was set up inside the jail, which is famous for its humanitarian customs. Special movie privileges were also granted.

“Other than the fact they don’t have the ability to walk in and out of the doors as they wish, we try to make it as much like home as we can,” a jailer said. “We try to do that every day but naturally the fact they can’t see their loves ones [on Christmas] makes it a really tough time for some of them.”

The enlightened and humanitarian jail policies are largely due, in my view, to Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis. His philosophy: the best jail is an empty one. As Jimmy Ibbotson sings about him here, "An officer of peace, his county rocks."

Actor Charlie Sheen has posted an $8,500.00 bond in Aspen tonight and been released from the Pitkin County Jail. His wife called 911 this morning, prompting his arrest. The Aspen Daily News reports:

Aspen police officer Rick Magnuson made the arrest after Sheen’s wife, Brooke Mueller Sheen, called 911 at 8:34 a.m. An ambulance responded to the scene but the alleged victim did not require medical attention, police said.

According to the Pitkin County Sheriff's Department:

"Carlos Irwin Estevez, also known as the actor Charles I. Sheen, 44, of Encino, Calif., was placed under arrest for second-degree assault, a class four felony; menacing, a class five felony and criminal mischief, a class one misdemeanor. All charges are coupled with a domestic violence component."

[More...]

If you're in a reading rather than listening mode, here's an old favorite, from The Onion, How the Weed Delivery Guy Saved Christmas.

How's your day going so far? This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Balloon Boy parents Richard and Mayumi Heene were each sentenced to stints in the county jail today as conditions of probation for perpetuating the hoax that transfixed the nation a few months ago. (In Colorado, a defendant can be sentenced to up to 90 in days as a condition of probation for a felony and 60 days for a misdemeanor.)

Richard Heene, who last month pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant, will have to serve 30 days of the sentence full-time in the Larimer County jail, with the remaining 60 days served on work-release. Larimer County Court Judge Stephen Schapanski said Heene would start serving the jail sentence on Jan. 11. "I will delay this until after the holiday in fairness mostly to his children,"

Mayumi Heene, who helped hatch the scheme and who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false reporting, was sentenced to 20 days of jail, to be served through a program that allows her to perform jail-supervised community service a couple days a week and return home at night.

[More...]

Republicans claimed a scalp today in Colorado as Stephanie Villafuerte, President Obama's nominee for U.S. Attorney for Colorado, withdrew her name from consideration. Her withdrawal comes after last week's call by Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for an investigation regarding the Cory Voorhies matter (background here.)

So, who's left? Bill Thiebaut, Jr. the current District Attorney for Pueblo (south of Colorado Springs) and a former state senator, and John Walsh, an AUSA in L.A. for several years, now in private practice in Denver.

Thiebaut has some good positions. He is opposed to the death penalty and while serving as Pueblo DA, called for the passage of a bill to abolish it, even though it was opposed by the District Attorney's Council and state AG John Suthers. He also opposes mandatory adult sentences for teens. [More...]

I haven't posted much this week because I came down with a cold and awful sore throat with almost complete laryngitis. Between the sniffles and not being able to squeak out more than a few sounds at a time,I'm squarely in "the doldrums."

Anyone have any ideas for busting out? I made chicken soup with matzoh balls tonight, but by the time it was done, I was too tired to eat.

I'm looking forward to this weekend so I can stay inside my abode until Monday. Reading makes me dizzy, so I'm just going to watch old movies.

Whhat do you have planned, and if you were feeling under the weather, what would make you feel better?

this is an open thread, all topics welcome.

A mistrial has been declared for the fourth time against John Gotti, Jr. The jury did not find the testimony of mob informants credible.

Several were unconvinced by the prosecution case that relied on the increasingly controversial use of mob informants....[S]ome jurors said after the trial ended that they did not find a self-confessed multiple murderer a convincing witness.

AUSA Elie Honig took the loss graciously: [More....]

President Obama, upon the recommendation of Colorado's two U.S. Senators and others, has nominated former Denver Chief Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Villafuerte for Colorado U.S. Attorney.

Republicans are having a hissy-fit. The brouhaha is over the criminal case of former ICE agent Cory Voorhis. Voorhis was acquitted of misdemeanor charges that he improperly accessed the restricted NCIC database and passed information contained in it to Gov. Bill Ritter's then opponent for Governor, Bob Beauprez, who used it in an ad to attack Ritter as being soft on undocumented residents while District Attorney.

Voorhis' didn't deny accessing the database or passing the information on to the Beauprez campaign. His defense was that he did nothing wrong by doing so and that the charges were politically motivated. [More...]

Via the Oregonian:

Oregon opened another chapter in U.S. marijuana history when at 4:20 p.m. Friday, about three dozen people christened the nation's first cafe for licensed residents to sit down, sip coffee and smoke marijuana.

...Excited patrons spilled down the outside steps at 700 N.E. Dekum St. as the cafe prepared to open at the appointed hour -- "420" being slang for using marijuana. In line were military veterans, grandmothers, young workers, men and women, old and young, black, white and Latino.

The Los Angeles City Council today rejected a proposal to ban sales of medical marijuana. And in Colorado, Attorney General John Suthers issued a legal opinion that medical marijuana sales are subject to taxation, and dispensaries must obtain a sales tax license.