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Who's Really at Fault in Locklear's DUI?
911 caller took photos of arrest and sold to TMZ for $27,500.
Oct. 1, 2008 — -- A celebrity news reporter called 911 to report that Heather Locklear appeared to be driving drunk, and then took photographs of the actress' DUI arrest, the woman's lawyer told ABCNews.com.
Jill Ishkanian, a former reporter and editor at Us Weekly magazine, called police Saturday night, saying Locklear appeared intoxicated, after what her lawyer, Nick Tepper, described as a chance encounter with Locklear in a Montecito, Calif., market.
Ishkanian then sold the photographs through an intermediary to the celebrity news site TMZ.com for $27,500, Tepper said in a written statement to ABCNews.com.
He denied that Ishkanian was following Locklear or that she set up the star to be arrested and photographed.
"There was no setup and there's no moral ambiguity," Tepper said, adding that there were other witnesses to the incident. "If you see someone driving impaired, you call the police and that's what she did. The implication that somehow my client did something wrong is absurd and defamatory."
In the statement to ABCNew.com, Tepper said, "The fact [Ishkanian] witnessed Ms. Locklear's erratic driving and reported it to the police did not mean she was disqualified from reporting the story, which she, in fact, did. Like any intrepid reporter, she was ready -- as always -- for the story and reported it when news broke."
Reached by phone tonight, Locklear's attorney, Blair Berk, declined to comment about the latest development and any news about her client's arrest.
The former "Dyansty" and "Melrose Place" star was arrested Saturday night in what appeared to be a standard celebrity mishap.
According to the California Highway Patrol, when officers responded to the scene, Locklear's car was obstructing the traffic lane, and she "appeared to be disoriented."
Officers arrested Locklear after performing a DUI test, the CHP said. "Although obvious impairment was exhibited during the tests, alcohol was ruled out as a factor," the CHP said. Locklear was subsequently arrested on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of a controlled substance.
