Spector Arrested for Scuffle
Troubled record producer Phil Spector was arrested on Friday for an investigation of misdemeanor battery after he and a chauffeur fought at Spector’s Alhambra, California, mansion.
Police arrested Spector and Tobie Wheeler at 10:15 a.m. and both men claimed to suffer minor injuries. Spector, 64, was quickly released and will appear in court to answer to the charge on June 14th. Wheeler, 46, had only worked for the legendary producer for a few months.
The arrest is the least of Spector’s legal worries. He still faces a murder charge in the February 2003 shooting of actress Lana Clarkson. Since the shooting, Spector has maintained his innocence, claiming that Clarkson shot herself. Last week, his attorneys said that gunshot residue found on Clarkson’s hands proved that her death was a suicide. Though prosecutors had largely kept quiet about the case, they responded that investigators also found the gunshot residue, as well as Clarkson’s blood on Spector. Investigators also believe that Spector tried to clean and move the gun that killed Clarkson.
Spector was arrested the morning of the shooting and released on $1 million bail. In September the shooting was ruled a homicide and Spector was charged last November. The case has yet to go to trial.