The "Snag" That Broke Down Charlie Sheen's Plea Deal Has a Name

Actor's attorney tells E! News that arguments over whether Sheen would enter work release or useful public service program were at heart of negotiation breakdown

Beverly Campbell. Remember it. 'Cause you can bet Charlie Sheen will.

Turns out it was little old Campbell, an employee in the Pitkin County Jail Administrative Offices, who single-handedly undid what it took two months and countless billable hours by Hollywood's finest attorneys to do: get Sheen a workable plea deal.

Here's how those "minor details" yielded such a major breakdown:

The crux of the problem was which program the Two and a Half Men star would enter after entering a no-contest misdemeanor plea for assaulting wife Brooke Mueller on Christmas Day.

Team Sheen was pushing for work release, which would have allowed the actor to spend up to 12 hours a day outside the jail and would basically be treated as a "civilian" while going about his day.

So convinced that this option would be approved, attorney Yale Galanter had already set to work ensuring that Sheen would serve out his sentence at the Pitkin County Jail by night and Theatre Aspen by day.

And then came yesterday, the day of Sheen's would-be plea bargain and—so keen was he to begin making restitution—the day he intended to begin his sentence. Unfortunately, it was also the day Campbell came into the picture. Everyone was down with the deal but her—and it turns out hers was the only opinion that mattered.

"I had the work release deal in place for two months and the D.A. and the sheriff had both approved it," Galanter told E! News. "We tried to get the D.A. and sheriff to override the employee, but it didn't happen."

In fairness, the reason why it didn't happen is more matter of law than matter of opinion.

Campbell believed that Sheen did not qualify to participate in the county's work release program seeing as how he does not hold a job in Aspen. Instead, Campbell was pushing for the sitcom star to enter into something called the Useful Public Service (yeah, that'd be UPS) program.

But brown just wouldn't do for Sheen, as it would only afford him a few hours a day outside of the jail and would bring with it much stricter restrictions on what would be permissible for the duration of his sentence, including control over his meals and, yes, a ban on smoking.

"Someone who works for the sheriff wanted Charlie to do volunteer service (UPS) instead of work release, which is a totally different deal," Galanter told E! News. "We were very surprised. We're not pissed, but we are definitely disappointed.

"I can't speak for her, I wasn't dealing with her," Galanter said of Campbell. "While trying to resolve yesterday's issues, Judge Boyd didn't want to keep people waiting and we literally ran out of time so we pulled the plug."

Campbell, for her part, isn't interested in explaining her position to the press.

"No comment," she told E! News. "I can't talk to you."

And while Galanter said they "aren't exactly sure" what will happen next, he has a little over a month to figure it out. Sheen is due back in court on July 12.

(Originally published June 8, 2010, at 12:47 p.m. PT)