Mel Gibson Update: L.A. DA weighs dueling Gibson-Grigorieva extortion, domestic abuse claims

(CBS) LOS ANGELES - The bitter battle between Mel Gibson and Oksana Grigorieva is now in the hands of the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, which will decide whether the Russian musician or the "Lethal Weapon" actor will face criminal charges in connection with their tumultuous breakup.

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A spokesman for the D.A's office told The Los Angeles Times that senior officials are going to be briefed next week on the evidence against Grigorieva, the final step in determining whether to prosecute her for extortion, and Gibson for domestic violence.

Detectives began their investigation into the domestic abuse allegations in January 2010 after Grigorieva accused Gibson of punching her and threatening her with a gun during an altercation at his home in Malibu.

Since then, the pianist and the Academy Award-winning actor have been doing a tremendous amount of mudslinging.

Grigorieva released a series of racist and profanity-laced recordings of Gibson to the public.

Gibson's lawyers then accused Grigorieva of trying to use the obscene recordings to extort money from their client.

Sheriff's detectives investigated the extortion claims, and in February, turned their findings over to prosecutors who reviewed potential cases against both Grigorieva and Gibson; however, investigators did not say whether the evidence they gathered amounted to a crime, reports The Los Angeles Times.

"The investigating officer...was asked specifically and he told us they were presenting evidence to us and it would be up to us to decide what to file against whom," Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, told The Los Angeles Times.