Pamela Anderson Lee filed for divorce from Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday, citing irreconcilable differences. In her petition, she asked for legal custody of their children, Brandon, twenty months, and Dylan, seven weeks. The actress also wants her maiden name, Pamela Denise Anderson, back. The petition— her second filing in their almost three- year marriage— did not cite the incident that led to her husband's arrest two days ago.

On Friday, Tommy Lee pled not guilty to charges of spousal abuse, child abuse, and illegal firearm possession at his formal arraignment before Malibu Municipal Court Judge Lawrence Mira. Mira set bail for Lee at $500,000, which the drummer was able to post, but first imposed a series of orders designed to keep him away from Pamela and their children. The judge ordered Lee to have no contact, in person, by telephone, or in writing, with Pamela Lee and their sons. He also ordered Lee to stay away from drugs and alcohol, enroll immediately in an anger- management program, turn in his passport, stay in Los Angeles County, and not possess a firearm. Mira said he did not want to set bail for the rocker, but he was constitutionally required to do so. "I guarantee [that if] you violate one of these orders, I will revoke the bail. . . . So if you want to remain at your liberty while these [charges] are pending, you'd better dot the I's and cross the T's," the judge warned.

Stephen Kahn, one of Pamela Lee's attorneys, made it clear to the judge where the actress stood on the prospect of her husband's release: "She wishes to have the court know that she desperately is in fear of her safety and the safety of her children," Kahn said. "She is in fear of her life and the life of her children, and she wanted the court to know that," he reiterated.

The charges against Lee stem from an altercation with his wife at their Malibu home. On Tuesday night around 7:45 p.m. Pamela Lee called 911 to report that she and Lee had been arguing and that he attacked her. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputy Angie Prewett, deputies arrived to find the former Baywatch babe suffering from minor injuries, including red marks on her back and a broken, bloody, and torn fingernail.

Lee was arrested, and bail was set at $1 million, double the standard amount. The reason? Police found a gun in the Lee home, a violation since Tommy is already on probation for an assault on a photographer. Since it would have cost Lee $100,000 to post the bail bond, he spent the following three nights in the Malibu sheriff's station.

Pamela Lee, in a statement released through her publicist, said that both she and son Dylan were victims of domestic violence: "Tommy Lee assaulted and battered Pamela— while she was holding their seven- week- old child, Dylan, and in the presence of their twenty- month- old son, Brandon— causing her and Dylan physical injuries and severe emotional distress and causing Brandon emotional distress. . . . Pamela intends to vigorously cooperate in the prosecution of her husband and is looking to the district attorney and all other appropriate authorities to protect her and her children." Pamela asked for and was granted an emergency protective order against Tommy that prohibits him from contacting her.

The thirty- five- year- old musician pled no contest in January to a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from an assault on lensman Henry Trappler outside the Viper Room, a West Hollywood nightclub, in September of 1996. Trappler suffered a broken pelvis and rib during the incident. Lee was ordered to pay $17,500 restitution, undergo anger- management counseling, and perform 250 hours of community service. He was placed on probation for two years, but was not required to report to a probation officer.

In December, Lee and Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx were arrested for allegedly assaulting a security guard at a concert in Phoenix, Arizona. A preliminary hearing in that case is scheduled for Friday, but because the charge is a misdemeanor, Lee doesn't have to appear in court. Both men have pled not guilty.

Copyright © 1996 - Y2K+7 Pamwatch All Rights Reserved.