O.J. Simpson charged with seven felonies...

[Natston]

Prosecutors on Tuesday filed numerous criminal charges against former NFL star O.J. Simpson and three other men in connection with an alleged armed robbery at a Las Vegas hotel last week.

The 11 charges include two counts of first-degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon; two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon; and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

Prosecutors say Simpson and his co-defendants -- Walter Alexander, Clarence Stewart and Michael McClinton -- committed kidnapping because they intended to hold or detain the two alleged victims using a weapon.

One of the alleged victims, Bruce Fromong, suffered a major heart attack and was in critical condition Tuesday at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the hospital said.

Fromong, 53, was admitted to the hospital Monday night and is in the intensive care unit, according to a hospital statement.

Earlier, Fromong told the celebrity Web site TMZ.com that Simpson and other men came into a hotel room at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino and demanded that items belonging to Simpson be returned.

The other alleged victim, Alfred Beardsley, said he thought the whole thing was a law enforcement operation.

"They came into that room like policemen or military style people," Beardsley said on CNN's "Larry King Live" Monday night.

"They were well dressed. It was a takeover situation and they knew what they were doing. I thought they were involved in law enforcement or the FBI," Beardsley said of the incident Thursday.

Simpson, 60, was arrested Sunday and booked on two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count each of armed burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary, Las Vegas police Capt. James Dillon said.

Prior to his arrest, Simpson said he was merely retrieving items belonging to him, and that no guns were involved.

Police said Simpson orchestrated the incident and the suspects had at least two firearms, which authorities recovered during searches.

Simpson was being held without bail.

Alexander, 46, was arrested Saturday in connection with the incident and released without bail.

Stewart was booked Monday night on six counts of robbery, assault, burglary and conspiracy. He posted bail early Tuesday morning and was released, the Clark County Detention Facility said.

Beardsley told Larry King he was contacted last month by Thomas Riccio, who said he had a client who wanted to buy some high-end O.J. Simpson items and would pay top dollar for them.

Beardsley then called Fromong, a Simpson acquaintance, who gave him a list of items he could provide.

Although the items Fromong mentioned were in the room at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino on Thursday, Beardsley said he himself did not purchase them.

"There's a lot of controversy about who is owner of the items right now," Beardsley said. "I'd rather let a judge decide who is the owner, (but) they were in mine and Bruce Fromong's possession."

That ownership will be disputed Tuesday in a court in Los Angeles, as Fred Goldman and his family ask a judge to order Simpson to turn over the items he allegedly stole in the hotel incident.

Beardsley said he was still in shock over the robbery, which he said involved at least two guns.

"This guy came over at gunpoint and ordered me to pack the items up," he said. "I refused. I was told to 'Get the f--- up, get the f--- up.' "

"It was scary. You just wait it out, see what's going to happen. ... It was pretty bad," Beardsley added.

Beardsley also identified Alexander as the man who shouted "Police!" when the group came through the door of the hotel room.

Alexander agreed to talk to prosecutors "on the condition that nothing he said could or would be used against him," according to his attorney, Robert Rentzer.

Police retrieved two firearms after Alexander gave them information that resulted in the issuance of three search warrants, Dillon said Sunday.

Alexander told King he had been friends with Simpson for years and was in Las Vegas to attend the same wedding Simpson planned to attend.

He said he knew "exactly what happened in that situation [the alleged robbery] before, during and after," and he claimed that Simpson was "set up."

"It's very obvious that Thomas Riccio had intentions to set O.J. up, and that's what happened," he said.

According to a recording that TMZ.com claims came from the incident, Simpson walked into the hotel room barking orders and profanities and repeatedly accused someone of stealing his things.

The audio recording on the Web site portrays an angry Simpson ordering people to stay in the hotel room and questioning the person he thinks stole from him.

"Don't let nobody out of this room," Simpson says to one person in the room before directing his ire at one person. "Motherf------, you think you can steal my s--- and sell it?"

Riccio, who is an auctioneer, is the source of the recording, according to TMZ.com.

"Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and now I'm in the middle of this mess and I hate that it happened," Alexander said.

He predicted that this time, Simpson will go to jail for what happened.

"There's been an outcry for him to pay for possible past transgressions," Alexander said

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/18...son/index.html

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Yikes...

[Anthem]

Weird.

My buds in Vegas are saying the whole thing was a setup.... they've got him w/ multiple hidden cameras and microphones and the police were called before he even got to the room.

Very fishy.

[Bball]

It's overcharged... It's overcharged to the point Simpson would actually probably get some sympathy from a jury these days. I'm doubting it gets to a jury tho.

I don't think the guy doing the recording seems to have had much to do with the planning and HOW things went down. But it is clear he figured he'd get something of interest on the tapes.

And it's not (appearing) like the guys on the other side of this confrontation were angels.

It also seems Simpson might've had a valid argument in the first place even if he did handle in 'badly' (to say the least).

He -might- get SOME time out of this but it will be months (or weeks), not years. And many of the charges will be reduced or go away entirely.

That's my guess....

The comment about offshore accounts is probably going to be OJ's real longterm worry.

-Bball

[ABADays]

That O.J. - can't live with him (hm, poor choice of words) can't live without him.

[able]

it's not quite how it is portrait to begin with, the smoking gun with some answers :

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive...eardsley1.html

O.J.'s Delusional Accuser
Memorabilia dealer Beardsley once thought Simpson in plot to harm him

SEPTEMBER 24--One of the memorabilia dealers who has accused O.J. Simpson of armed robbery was once so mentally unstable that he was jailed in a prison psychiatric ward. In fact, Alfred Beardsley's delusions included his belief that the ex-athlete and others were conspiring to "get" him, according to court records obtained by The Smoking Gun.

The account of Beardsley, 45, is central to the prosecution of Simpson and several associates, all of whom have been charged with the September 13 gunpoint theft of sports memorabilia from a Las Vegas hotel room. Simpson contends that he and his posse went to the Palace Station hotel to recover collectibles--which were in the possession of Beardsley and fellow dealer Bruce Fromong--that had been stolen from him.

TSG has previously reported on Beardsley's criminal record, which includes a 2004 felony stalking conviction, prison time, and several restraining orders. But an incident in early-2000 may prove key to attacking the accuser's credibility in the Simpson case.

In January of that year, Beardsley was arrested on a pair of misdemeanor assault charges for trying to run another driver off the road. The fellow motorist was journalist Will Rogers, who had just written a story in California's Burbank Leader newspaper about Beardsley's purported plan to run for city council. The story, which was skeptical about the wannabe candidate's political future, apparently set off the erratic Beardsley, who would later admit to using his hulking frame (6' 6" and 270 pounds) to intimidate people.

In a sworn affidavit filed along with a restraining order application, Rogers detailed his interactions with the bizarre Beardsley. In an interview preceding the Leader story, Beardsley told Rogers that he was being harassed by Burbank's police, its city manager, and Mayor Stacey Murphy, whom, Beardsley claimed, was stalking him and "spreading false rumors that they are having an intimate personal relationship."

Beardsley also explained that he "hears voices" urging him to become mayor immediately, "to win control of the Burbank Police Department," according to Rogers's affidavit. And city residents, Beardsley claimed, "communicate with him by various signals, letting him know what they want him to do based upon their actions."

Then Beardsley focused on Rogers, who he insisted was "in on it," according to the journalist's affidavit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. "He said he believes I am now joined with--or that I am perhaps leading--efforts by Burbank's Mayor and O.J. Simpson to "get" him." Beardsley then asked Rogers, "How did they get to you?" and "Who put you up to this?"

In a TSG interview, Rogers recalled that Beardsley thought that the newsman was involved in a plot with Simpson and Burbank politicians to harm or kill him. He also said Beardsley--whose car had "BILLS32" vanity license plates--claimed after his arrest that Rogers had waved a gun at him during one of the road confrontations.

During his Burbank Leader interview with Rogers, Beardsley claimed that he was Simpson's personal assistant and managed the ex-athlete's memorabilia. In a subsequent conversation with Simpson's agent, Rogers reported that the former football star's representative said that Beardsley was "an obsessed fan who buys Simpson's memorabilia" and "is not employed in any way by Simpson."

Rogers's affidavit also includes his account of Beardsley's two road rage incidents. During one confrontation, Beardsley told Rogers, "It's just you and me now. I am going to get you." The hulking Beardsley also ominously warned that Rogers would "have a visitor in the night," adding, "You have had it, mother****er! You are dead meat."

In the midst of the second vehicle chase, Rogers called cops, who responded to a Burbank street and arrested Beardsley, who had just exited his car and was approaching Rogers's automobile. In mid-January 2000, Beardsley was named in a misdemeanor complaint charging him with assault with a deadly weapon for his attempt to run Rogers off the road. At the same time, a judge signed a protective order barring Beardsley from stalking or having contact with Rogers and any members of Burbank's city council.

The order also warned Beardsley to "stay away from City Hall," where his strange behavior included a bizarre incident in which he showed up unannounced in the office of City Manager Robert Ovrom. According to a court affidavit sworn by Ovrom, Beardsley once walked into his office, locked the door behind him, and sat silently with "a glazed look on his face." Police responded to a call from Ovrom and escorted Beardsley from the building.

In February 2000, Beardsley copped a plea to a misdemeanor assault rap and was sentenced to 15 days in jail and placed on informal probation for three years. He was also fined $100 and ordered to complete a domestic violence counseling program.

But when Beardsley failed to appear for a subsequent court hearing, his probation was revoked and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. A court docket indicates that Beardsley missed that court appearance because he "was on a psychiatric hold at county jail." The decision to treat Beardsley in the jail's psychiatric unit apparently came after county officials successfully petitioned to have him formally committed pursuant to California's Welfare & Institutions Code. In connection with that application, Rogers submitted an affidavit "in support of petition for postcertification treatment." In preparing his affidavit, Rogers spoke with a prosecutor in the Los Angeles District Attorney's Psychiatric Section.

[In a police interview following the alleged Las Vegas memorabilia heist, Simpson told detectives, "Beardsley is certifiable."]

Three months after his guilty plea, Beardsley was released from custody and soon began attending a court-ordered domestic violence program. One progress report notes that, "client claimed he regrets enormously what he did." Another report indicates that Beardsley "admitted that he knows he has consciously intimidated people with his size and regrets this negative action. Client admitted that being more open with others has been good for his self-esteem, which is an issue with him. Client has progressed to this point."

Beardsley, who completed the batterers' program in June 2001, was arrested in October 2003 for threatening to kill the family of a California Highway Patrol officer following his arrest for public urination. An amended criminal complaint added felony stalking charges against Beardsley, who later pleaded guilty to terrorizing a former girlfriend. After violating terms of a related restraining order, Beardsley was re-sentenced to two years in prison.

there's a LOT more to that, but wow, that he even was arrested is almost silly

[BlueNGold]

The guy sounds like a complete nut job, but I didn't read anywhere that he chopped his wife's head off. Actually, I think it's a contest between the two of them. Fortunate for OJ, the legal standard is beyond a reasonable doubt. I think OJ just rolled another 7...