Charlie Sheen Pleads Guilty to Misdemeanor Assault

Aug. 2, 2010— -- Charlie Sheen pleaded guilty today to a charge stemming from a Christmas Day dispute with his wife in Aspen, Colo.

The actor pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in a domestic abuse case involving his wife in exchange for the withdrawal of two other charges, including a felony. He was sentenced to 30 days in a California rehabilitation center, 30 days of probation and 36 hours of anger management, according to the Associated Press.

Sheen, the "Two and a Half Men" star, had been charged with second-degree assault, menacing and criminal mischief in a case involving a domestic dispute with his wife, Brooke Mueller, on Christmas Day.

Sheen attorney Yale Galanter had previously said that Sheen, 44, would agree to plead guilty to misdemeanor assault in exchange for prosecutors dropping more serious charges.

Sheen's first plea deal fell apart in June. Sheen would have pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge then and began serving his jail time immediately. But the two sides reportedly could not come to an agreement on details of a proposed work-release program. Another reported sticking point was the fact that Sheen wouldn't have been allowed to smoke.

According to California defense attorney Dana Cole, Sheen's expected 30 days in jail is standard for his offense, considering that he hasn't been convicted of assault before. But he probably couldn't expect a day release from prison to teach acting if he were not a celebrity.

"If he did pull a knife on her [as Mueller claimed in her 911 call] 30 days would not be an unusual sentence," Cole said. "But one can't think of a situation where an inmate is allowed to teach theater groups by day."

Since his arrest last year, Sheen has worked to reconcile with Mueller, rebuild their family -- they have one-year-old twin sons, Bob and Max -- and repair his public image. The two were married in 2008.

Last month, Sheen signed on for two more years of his successful sitcom, putting an end to a long salary dispute and rumors that he wanted out to focus more on film.

Harrowing 911 Call

Later that month, Sheen, the highest-paid actor on television, took time off from his hit television show voluntarily to enter a rehab facility -- for the third time in his career -- "as a preventative measure," according to his rep Stan Rosenfield.

At the same time, Mueller checked into a separate rehab center, but left a few days later after her counselors agreed she was fit to live at home as long as she was monitored.

Mueller was charged with a DUI in 1996 and cocaine possession in 2001.

In an audio recording of a 911 call on December 25, a woman who identifies herself as Mueller tells the dispatcher that her husband threatened her with a knife and says, "I thought I was going to die for one hour."

"My husband had me with a knife," she tells the 911 operator. " I was scared for my life and he threatened me." She described the knife as a "switchblade."

When asked her husband's name, she waits before saying "It's Charlie Sheen," and starts crying.

The actor was arrested and spent the better part of Christmas Day in jail. After posting an $8,500 bond, Sheen was released from jail that evening.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.