With record producer Phil Spector’s murder retrial approaching, prosecutors on Monday asked a judge to reconsider rulings from the first trial that excluded evidence of six times Spector allegedly threatened people with handguns.
The alleged threats would be offered to show “common design or plan” by Spector, who is charged with murdering actress Lana Clarkson after taking her home from a nightclub, prosecutors said.
The six incidents involved men and women, and some allegedly occurred in public. Two resulted in gun-related convictions against Spector for which he received probation in the 1970s.
“Spector has a long history of resorting to gun-related violence to exert his will when he does not get his way,” said the motion filed by prosecutors Alan Jackson and Truc Do.
Defense attorney Doron Weinberg declined to comment but said a response to the motion would be filed Tuesday.
During the first trial, Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler allowed the testimony of five women who claimed Spector threatened them with guns in a way that might have been similar to his actions toward Clarkson, who died of a gunshot wound at Spector’s Alhambra mansion in 2003.
In allowing the women’s testimony in 2005, Fidler said it was “a dangerous path to go down” legally but might illustrate the state’s theory of motive.
Allegations span three decades
Spector, 68, is famed for his “Wall of Sound” recording technique. A pretrial hearing is scheduled Thursday, with jury questioning to begin Oct. 14. The first trial ended in a jury deadlock.
The six encounters outlined by prosecutors span more than three decades.
In 1972 and 1975, Spector pleaded guilty to gun possession, brandishing and assault charges, and was placed on probation. One incident occurred at a now-defunct club on Rodeo Drive and another outside the Beverly Hills Hotel.
A 1977 encounter involved musician Leonard Cohen, who claimed Spector held a gun to his chest and said, “I love you, Leonard,” to which Cohen replied, “I hope so, Phil.”
Prosecutors said a 1978 incident involved a couple who went to Spector’s home to discuss music for a TV pilot and later said they were held for hours while Spector played a piano, displayed a gun and allegedly pointed it at the man.
Another woman alleged that Spector flicked ashes on her dog in 1999, and that when she protested, held a gun to her cheek and made threatening remarks, according to the motion.
The last alleged incident came in November 2003, nine months after the Clarkson killing, when Spector entered a coffee shop and was recognized by three patrons who asked him to join them for coffee.
Spector allegedly made derogatory remarks about them and said, “I’m gonna go get my gun and blow you ... away,” prosecutors said in the motion.
Prosecutors cited “the doctrine of chances” saying that after some 40 years of gun threats, it was unlikely that Spector would unwittingly wind up in a room with Clarkson when she decided to kill herself, as the defense claims.