The recent arrest of Charlie Sheen for allegedly threatening his spouse, Brooke Mueller, with a knife might not be shocking news to Brittany Ashland.

In 1997, Ashland, then involved with the infamous “Wall Street” actor, filed a lawsuit accusing him of assaulting her and intimidating her into silence.

On February 6, 1997, Ashland filed a lawsuit against Sheen, asserting that on December 20, 1996, he violently grabbed her by the hair and threw her onto his Agoura Hills home’s marble floor, rendering her unconscious and causing her lip to split so severely it required seven stitches.

The lawsuit also alleged that Sheen coerced her into removing and discarding her blood-soaked garments and threatened to murder her if she disclosed the attack.

Sheen faced charges of assault, battery, negligence, false imprisonment, and emotional distress, with the suit seeking unspecified damages.

Authorities investigated the allegations, and on February 20, 1997, prosecutors filed criminal charges against Sheen for misdemeanor battery with serious bodily injury.

Sheen’s spokesperson, Jeff Ballard, dismissed the lawsuit as “a tacky extortion attempt,” arguing that it was “the usual cost of being a celebrity in this era.”

Initially, Sheen pleaded not guilty but changed his plea to no contest on June 7, 1997.

He received a one-year suspended prison sentence and two years of probation.

Judge Lawrence Mira also ordered Sheen to pay $2,800 in fines and restitution, complete community service, and attend eight counseling sessions.

Sheen told the judge during his sentencing, “I feel this is very fair, and I’m grateful… you will not see me back in this courtroom,” as reported by The Los Angeles Times.

However, Sheen failed to keep his promise, violating his parole in 1998 when his father, actor Martin Sheen, reported him for a cocaine overdose.

He was subsequently ordered to enter a drug rehabilitation program.

Charlie Sheen’s legal and personal struggles have now entered a new phase with charges resulting from the Christmas Day altercation with his wife, Brooke Mueller Sheen.

On December 25, Charlie Sheen was apprehended after Brooke Mueller Sheen called 911 during a dispute that started when she expressed her desire for a divorce.

She informed the police that the actor pinned her down on a bed, held a knife to her throat, and threatened to kill her, stating, “You better be in fear. If you tell anybody, I’ll kill you.”