HOLLYWOOD, June 7 (UPI) — Amber Heard, who has accused husband Johnny Depp of domestic violence, was herself arrested on that charge in 2009 in an incident involving then-girlfriend Tasya van Ree.
Law enforcement sources say Heard and van Ree got in an argument at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and that Heard reportedly grabbed and struck van Ree in the arm, leading to the arrest, TMZ reported.
Heard was booked and had her mug shot taken, but in court the next day, a prosecutor declined to move forward with the case because both women lived in California. The judge told Heard, though, that charges could be refiled within two years. They were not.
Heard’s friend, iO Tillet Wright, said she saw evidence of physical harm to Heard during her marriage to Depp, US Weekly reported.
“I saw the bruises. Many times. And the fat lip. And the cut head,” she continued. She took to Twitter to defend Heard’s allegations.
“How much evidence does a woman need to present?! She has photos, texts, witnesses, and filed a restraining order,” Wright went on. “This culture of victim blaming makes me sick. I’m a witness. I’m here. I’m standing up. I can’t take any more of this witch hunt. I was on the [expletive] phone when he hit her. I HEARD HER SCREAM. I will testify. Here and in court. Under oath. WHAT ELSE DOES A WOMAN NEED?”
Heard named Wright in a court filing to support her application for a restraining order against Depp on May 28, saying Wright was on the phone with her at the time of the alleged abuse.
Heard said in court papers that Depp, 52, had demanded she call Wright to “prove his paranoid and irrational accusations about some delusional idea he was having.” She said Depp screamed “profanities and insults at iO.”
Divorce Lawyer Laura Wasser, who is representing Depp, denies Heard’s allegations, saying it is Heard’s way of trying to secure a premature financial settlement.
