Greg Allen/REX ShutterstockCharlie Sheen has been named a suspect in a criminal investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department for allegedly making threats against an unnamed victim.
A rep for the 50-year-old Two and a Half Men and Anger Management alum had no immediate comment. A police spokesperson told E! News Wednesday officers had on March 31 "completed an investigative report where Charlie Sheen was listed as a suspect in the investigation."
The LAPD threat management unit is the group leading the probe, which is ongoing, and the victim's information is confidential. A search warrant has been obtained for this case, the spokesperson said. A police source confirmed to E! News this is a criminal investigation.
The investigation was triggered by Sheen's ex-fiancée, Scottine Ross, aka adult film actress Brett Rossi, 26, NBC News reported, citing Los Angeles police and her lawyer, John Taylor. Rossi's lawyer confirms to E! News that an emergency protective order against Sheen was filed last week, following a news report claiming that a recording of Sheen allegedly threatening her life exists. The actor's lawyer called the move a publicity stunt.
"She takes this very seriously. We take this very seriously. He has physically abused her in the past. She is getting all the legal protection that she can from him at this time", Taylor tells E! News.
She and Sheen were engaged for almost a year before they broke up in late 2014, weeks before their wedding.
This past December, Rossi filed a civil lawsuit against Sheen, accusing him of assault and battery and of failing to tell her he was HIV-positive. Sheen had revealed his HIV-positive diagnosis a month earlier. His lawyer called Rossi's claims a "complete fabrication" and said she knew he had contracted the virus and continued to have sex with him willingly. The lawsuit is still pending.
"We filed a lawsuit on her behalf. They've successfully moved this into private arbitration in an attempt to prevent any sort of public scrutiny or judgment by a jury," Taylor adds, insisting that he and his team opposed the decision. "We believe that the public should be able to see what is going on in the court system."
An LAPD source told The New York Daily News Wednesday the new investigation centers on abuse Rossi allegations made during a police interview last week and an alleged 35-minute audio tape reported by Radar Online and The National Enquirer, both of which are owned by American Media. On Tuesday, police officers served senior editors in the firm's New York office with what Radar Online called a "lengthy search warrant involving Radar articles about an explosive audio tape of Sheen confessing that he lied to a sex partner about" his HIV-positive status.
The search warrant, obtained by E! News, states Rossi is the "victim" in the case and calls to search for audio recordings and transcripts pertaining to three The National Enquirer and Radar Online articles posted last week—one about an alleged physical threat Sheen made against Rossi and two about how the actor allegedly "hid" and "lied about" his HIV-positive status.
The document also says that there is probable cause to believe that the property targeted in the search "tends to show that a felony has been committed or that a particular person has committed a felony."
The document names some of the allegations Rossi made against Sheen in her civil lawsuit, which his lawyer had denied. The warrant stated she said she "endured domestic violence, physical assaults and death threats" while living with the actor and that "on several occasions, Sheen had brandished firearms at her and threatened her life."
"Charlie Sheen intends to vigorously defend the lawsuit filed by Brett Rossi aka Scottine Ross," the actor's lawyer had said in response to the civil lawsuit, after it was filed. "Numerous witnesses will dispute each and every claim made by Ms. Rossi. We are confident that Mr. Sheen will prevail in this action and also will recover significant damages against her in connection with a pending arbitration that was commenced months ago."
Sheen's lawyer also said in his response Rossi was seeking "revenge" against the actor for "breaking off the engagement and cutting her off financially." The attorney said Rossi "attempted to extort millions of dollars by disclosing Sheen's medical condition" although she had signed a nondisclosure agreement and a confidential settlement agreement.
Ross had told police recently she is in constant fear that Sheen will harm her in retaliation for the filing, the search warrant states.
"[Rossi] stated that she did not report the violence and abuse at the time that the incidents occurred as she feared for safety and was under Sheen's control" and that she continues to endure "ongoing harassment" and "threats" from Sheen, it says.
(E! and NBC News are part of the NBCUniversal family.)