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Could Charlie Sheen Face Charges for Most Recent Hotel Antics?

By Tanya Roth, Esq. on October 28, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Sorry, Charlie. Now that the media has "unmasked" the girl that was Charlie Sheen's date the night of his alleged rampage at the Plaza Hotel in New York, you can see it coming. As predicted in Celebrity Justice's prior post on the topic, Sheen's companion, now named as adult actress Capri Anderson (or, Christina Walsh, or Alexis Capri, take your pick), would like the law to get involved.

As much of the western world knows, Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen had a really bad night this week as the result of either a) drugs and alcohol (per the tabloid press) or b) an allergic reaction to medication (per Sheen's rep). According to reports, Sheen damaged his room at the Plaza and scared Ms. Anderson into hiding in the bathroom. Security was called and the night ended with Sheen checked into the hospital.

Most of the news coverage on what might happen next has been either off or just plain wrong. According to the New York Post, for example, Capri Anderson hopes Colorado authorities will revoke Sheen's probation because she was "held against her will" in the New York hotel room.

Sorry Capri, that's not how criminal charges work. Ms. Anderson, like all private citizens, cannot press charges against anyone. That's up to the prosecutor's discretion. And as a general rule, criminal charges need to be filed in the jurisdiction where they occurred. So here, if there is evidence of actual criminal activity by Sheen, the Colorado prosecutor could take note of that, and Sheen's probation could be revoked. Not exactly a slam dunk.

A final note. The "holding against her will" allegation, better known as false imprisonment, might be hard to prove here in light of Sheen's reported drunkeness that night. As proposed in our earlier post here on Celebrity Justice, assault still looks like a better bet for a girl trying to make a name for herself in the naked city. Sorry, Charlie.

10/28/10 Editor's Note: This post was updated to clarify that the authorities (namely prosecutors), not private citizens, ultimately decide if criminal charges are filed.

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