Team Spector's Setback

Thu., Oct. 27, 2005 8:45 PM PDT by Charlie Amter

Defending Phil Spector just got a lot harder, after his defense team was dealt a potentially devastating decision Thursday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry P. Fidler ruled that jurors in the music producer's upcoming murder trial will be able to hear that Spector was allegedly overheard saying he "didn't mean to shoot" B-movie star Lana Clarkson, who was found shot to death at his Alhambra, California, home Feb. 3, 2003.

The comment first surfaced in grand jury testimony by Alhambra Police Department Officer Beatrice Rodriguez, who said she heard the record producer utter, "I didn't mean to shoot her. It was an accident." The remark was not taped by police.

Spector was later heard in a police-recorded statement taken at his mansion saying that "the gun went off accidentally" and that "it was a mistake."

Additionally, Spector's chauffeur, Adriano De Souza, who called 911 the day of the murder, told the dispatcher he saw Spector holding a firearm, adding, "I think my boss killed somebody."

Fidler's decision came over the vehement objection of Spector lawyer Bruce Cutler, who argued that Spector never made the "I didn't mean it" comment.

"We deny in the clearest terms that he ever confessed to shooting the lady," said Cutler.

Further, the lawyer argued, any remarks that he did make were coerced by police, whom Culter referred to investigators as "storm troopers," and should not be admissible because Spector was intoxicated from a night of partying and also "experiencing symptoms of withdrawal" from his meds.

In another setback, Fidler said that the defense can't bring up Spector's story that Clarkson killed herself--or, as he told Esquire, "kissed the gun"--unless Spector takes the stand during the trial, which is tentatively set to begin sometime in January.

And, in what turned into a sweeping victory for Deputy District Attorney Douglas Sortino, the judge also allowed the prosecutor to tell jurors about Spector's 1975 misdemeanor weapons conviction and about 14 guns confiscated from his estate the day of Clarkson's death.

The 65-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, best known for his innovative Wall of Sound recording technique on hits by the Ronettes, the Beatles and the Righteous Brothers, has pleaded not guilty and is free on $1 million bail. He faces life in prison if convicted. He is also facing a wrongful death lawsuit from Clarkson's mother, Donna Clarkson

Spector, who appeared shaken by Thursday's rulings, is due back in court for another hearing Dec. 2.