OMEN
09-17-2007, 07:16 PM
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IN CUSTODY: OJ Simpson has been arrested for allegedly holding a memorabilia dealer at gunpoint in a Las Vegas Hotel.
Former football star OJ Simpson, who was acquitted in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife, has been arrested in connection with an alleged armed robbery last week in a hotel room in Las Vegas.
Simpson was taken into custody at the Palms hotel on Sunday morning without incident and faces felony charges, Capt. James Dillon of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told reporters.
Bail has not yet been set for Simpson, who will be transferred and booked into the county jail.
Las Vegas police on Saturday night arrested another man they believe was with the former star athlete during the alleged theft of Simpson-related sports souvenirs and other items and said they are searching for four others.
They also said they seized two handguns they believe are related to the Thursday night incident, which was reported by a sports memorabilia dealer as an armed robbery in his room at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino.
When asked if police believed that Simpson was wielding a gun, Las Vegas Metro Police Lt Clint Nichols told reporters: "We don't have any info that would lead us to believe he was armed."
Representatives for the Palms and Simpson's attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
'DONE NOTHING WRONG'
Charges against Simpson include two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit burglary and burglary with a firearm, Dillon said.
He is expected to be arraigned within 48 hours.
Orenthal James, or OJ, Simpson has previously told police and the media that he did nothing wrong in Las Vegas.
"I'm not walking around feeling sad or anything. I've done nothing wrong," the former athlete, actor and murder defendant said in an interview published in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday.
In 1995, Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in what was one of the most sensational court dramas in US history.
Simpson told the paper that "golfing buddies and some of their friends" accompanied him to a meeting at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino to help him retrieve sports memorabilia, personal photos and other items he said had been stolen by a former sports agent.
Simpson, who is 60 and lives in Miami, Florida, said an auctioneer set up the meeting with the sellers. He said the men in his party were unarmed.
"I'm OJ Simpson. How am I going to think that I'm going to rob somebody and get away with it?" he said. "You've got to understand, this ain't somebody going to steal somebody's drugs or something like that. This is somebody going to get his private (belongings) back. That's it. That's not robbery."
After he was acquitted in the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, a civil court jury found Simpson responsible for the deaths and ordered him to pay $US33.5 million in damages to their families.
The former National Football League star, who also appeared in films and commercials, has had other minor brushes with police since 1995. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
Simpson's latest legal flap comes as Simpson's book If I Did It, which includes a hypothetical account of his ex-wife's murder, was hitting store shelves. The book is currently No. 2 on Amazon.com's best-seller list.
Reuters
IN CUSTODY: OJ Simpson has been arrested for allegedly holding a memorabilia dealer at gunpoint in a Las Vegas Hotel.
Former football star OJ Simpson, who was acquitted in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife, has been arrested in connection with an alleged armed robbery last week in a hotel room in Las Vegas.
Simpson was taken into custody at the Palms hotel on Sunday morning without incident and faces felony charges, Capt. James Dillon of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told reporters.
Bail has not yet been set for Simpson, who will be transferred and booked into the county jail.
Las Vegas police on Saturday night arrested another man they believe was with the former star athlete during the alleged theft of Simpson-related sports souvenirs and other items and said they are searching for four others.
They also said they seized two handguns they believe are related to the Thursday night incident, which was reported by a sports memorabilia dealer as an armed robbery in his room at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino.
When asked if police believed that Simpson was wielding a gun, Las Vegas Metro Police Lt Clint Nichols told reporters: "We don't have any info that would lead us to believe he was armed."
Representatives for the Palms and Simpson's attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
'DONE NOTHING WRONG'
Charges against Simpson include two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit burglary and burglary with a firearm, Dillon said.
He is expected to be arraigned within 48 hours.
Orenthal James, or OJ, Simpson has previously told police and the media that he did nothing wrong in Las Vegas.
"I'm not walking around feeling sad or anything. I've done nothing wrong," the former athlete, actor and murder defendant said in an interview published in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday.
In 1995, Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in what was one of the most sensational court dramas in US history.
Simpson told the paper that "golfing buddies and some of their friends" accompanied him to a meeting at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino to help him retrieve sports memorabilia, personal photos and other items he said had been stolen by a former sports agent.
Simpson, who is 60 and lives in Miami, Florida, said an auctioneer set up the meeting with the sellers. He said the men in his party were unarmed.
"I'm OJ Simpson. How am I going to think that I'm going to rob somebody and get away with it?" he said. "You've got to understand, this ain't somebody going to steal somebody's drugs or something like that. This is somebody going to get his private (belongings) back. That's it. That's not robbery."
After he was acquitted in the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, a civil court jury found Simpson responsible for the deaths and ordered him to pay $US33.5 million in damages to their families.
The former National Football League star, who also appeared in films and commercials, has had other minor brushes with police since 1995. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
Simpson's latest legal flap comes as Simpson's book If I Did It, which includes a hypothetical account of his ex-wife's murder, was hitting store shelves. The book is currently No. 2 on Amazon.com's best-seller list.
Reuters