Spector Charged with Murder

Prosecutors are ready to rock and roll Phil Spector.

The legendary record producer was formally charged Thursday in the shooting death of B-movie starlet Lana Clarkson at his home earlier this year.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney filed one count of murder against Spector, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Spector, clad in black from head to toe, including sunglasses and platform shoes, pleaded innocent during his arraignment at Alhambra Superior Court.

The reclusive producer didn't speak during the hearing, instead letting his attorney, Robert Shapiro, enter the plea on Spector's behalf. The producer is due back in court January 23 for a preliminary hearing.

After the brief arraignment, Spector and Shapiro exited the courthouse only to find that their getaway car--a Hummer limo--had accidentally been locked by the driver, leaving the shell-shocked Spector and his attorney surrounded by a phalanx of camera- and microphone-wielding journalists for several minutes. Both refused to answer questions.

Earlier, however, Shapiro issued a brief statement defending his client.

"We have assembled a team of scientific experts, which is among the most respected and prestigious in the world," Shapiro said. "Based on this team's findings of this horrible human event, any jury will conclude that Phil Spector is not guilty. We will prevail."

Meanwhile, Clarkson's family issued a statement thanking police and the D.A. and saying the "family feels confident that the truth regarding Lana Clarkson?s death will be brought to light in a fair and impartial trial."

The murder charge comes after a nine-month investigation into the February 3 incident.

Spector, 63, was taken into custody after police discovered Clarkson's body in a chair in the foyer of his sprawling mansion in suburban Alhambra. The reclusive rock pioneer, famed for working with the Beatles, the Crystals, the Righteous Brothers, the Ramones and Elvis Presley, posted $1 million bail shortly thereafter and has remained free since, while detectives probed the slaying.

Spector adamantly denied killing Clarkson, telling Esquire magazine that the 40-year-old Clarkson, accidentally killed herself after she got drunk and "kissed the gun."

But, according to a copy of the police report obtained by the Los Angeles Times, Spector allegedly told his chauffeur, "I think I killed somebody" on the day of Clarkson's death. The driver also noted that Spector was holding a handgun, the report says.

In September, the coroner ruled Clarkson's death a homicide. Investigators say Spector, an avid firearms collector, was the trigger man.

Earlier this month, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor and the district attorney agreed to extend the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's bail until January, confident the man behind "Da Doo Ron Ron" won't cut and run.

Spector has said he hadn't met Clarkson until the night before her death. The two hooked up at the House of Blues nightclub on West Hollywood's Sunset Strip, where Clarkson worked as a hostess.

Clarkson earned a modicum of fame starring in low-budget cult flicks like Barbarian Queen, Amazon Women on the Moon, Wizard of the Lost Kingdom II and The Haunting of Morella.

Spector is hailed for his trademark Wall of Sound technique on such '60s classics as "Be My Baby," "Chapel of Love," "To Know Him Is to Love Him," "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." He also shepherded the Beatles' Let It Be, John Lennon's Imagine and George Harrison's All Things Must Pass (but a new version of Let It Be has just been released that strips out Spector's work).

He recently completed his first production work in 23 years, overseeing two songs on the British rock band Starsailor's upcoming CD, Silence Is Easy, due out January 27--just days after Spector returns to court for his next hearing.