Watch this charge go away. They grabbed the stuff, but I bet no guns were shown.
O.J. Simpson Arrested in Connection With Robbery
By STEVE FRIESS
The New York Times
September 16, 2007
LAS VEGAS, Sept. 16 — O.J. Simpson, the former football star who was acquitted of murdering his wife, , was arrested today in connection with a reported armed robbery of some sports memorabilia in a Las Vegas hotel room on Thursday night, the Las Vegas police said.
The precise charges against Mr. Simpson, 60, were not immediately clear. But another member of the group accused of storming the room at the Palace Station Hotel-Casino was charged with two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary with a deadly weapon, Lt. Clint Nichols said.
Lieutenant Nichols did not identify the suspects and said others are being sought for questioning.
Mr. Simpson has declared his innocence, insisting to The Associated Press that there were no guns involved in what he described as a self-organized “sting operation” aimed at retrieving some of his belongings.
Mr. Simpson was transported from the posh Palms Resort Casino to the Clark County Detention Center, where he will spend the night. He will be arraigned on Monday in Clark County District Court.
Two sports memorabilia dealers, Alfred Beardsley of Glendale, Calif., and Bruce L. Fromong of North Las Vegas, Nev., told the police on Thursday that a group of men, which he said included two men with guns, entered his room at the off-Strip Palace Station around 8 p.m. that day and left with a trove of memorabilia ranging from photos and books signed by Mr. Simpson as well as lithographs of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana and even Mr. Beardsley’s cellphone.
Police took possession of two guns that may have been used in the incident, during an early morning raid on two residences in Las Vegas, Captain James Dillon said.
Mr. Fromong and Mr. Beardsley told the police that the group was directed by Mr. Simpson.
Mr. Simpson gave a different account. He told the A.P. that he and his acquaintances from a cocktail party went to Mr. Beardsley’s room pretending to be interested in buying the suit Mr. Simpson wore in court in 1995 when he was acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. The group left with Mr. Simpson’s Hall of Fame certificate and a photo with J. Edgar Hoover, former F.B.I. director, among other items, Mr. Simpson said.
“Everybody knows this is stolen stuff,” Mr. Simpson was quoted as saying. “Not only wasn’t there a break-in, but Riccio came to the lobby and escorted us up to the room,” making a reference to Tom Riccio, an auction house owner. “In any event, it’s stolen stuff that’s mine. Nobody was roughed up.”
Mr. Simpson was acquitted for the 1994 double murder but was found liable for the deaths in a civil case in 1997 and ordered to pay the Goldman family $38 million and Ms. Simpson’s family $24 million. To date, he’s paid about $10,000 of the judgment, said a lawyer for the Goldman Family, David J. Cook.
Mr. Cook said that his clients find “a tremendous of satisfaction in the idea that finally Mr. Simpson will face justice somewhere.”
“Hopefully this will lead to a criminal trial, and then let the chips fall where they may,” Mr. Cook said. |
