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OJ Simpson Held Without Bond

Bump and Update: OJ is being held without bond until tomorrow. His lawyer, Yale Galanter of Florida, responds:

"Obviously we intend to fight these charges vigorously. We believe it is an extremely defensible case based on conflicting witness statements, flip-flopping by witnesses and witnesses making deals with the government to flip," he said.

****
Original Post: OJ Simpson Arrested

From AP:

O.J. Simpson was arrested Sunday on charges related to an armed robbery involving sport memorabilia, police said. Simpson was arrested shortly after 11 a.m. and is being brought to a police office, Capt. James Dillon said. Police are still determining charges against Simpson.

More....

. . . At least one other person has been arrested and police said earlier Sunday that as many as six people could be arrested in connection with the alleged armed robbery that occurred in a room inside the Palace Station casino-hotel on Thursday. Simpson, 60, has said he and other people with him were retrieving items that belonged to him. He told police no guns were involved. . . .

Just the facts. I'll leave the analysis to the criminal defense lawyers.

Update: (TL) He was arrested after a co-defendant, Walter Alexander, got popped last night at the airport flying to LA to meet his lawyer. The lawyer contacted the cops at the airport and made an instant deal to have his client cooperate in exchange for release without having to post money for bail. Remember to view the testimony of cooperators with caution.

My view: O.J. should also be released on his own recognizance. He stayed around Vegas and made himself available to the authorities investigating the case. He's not a flight risk.

Update: He's being held at the police department until his lawyer arrives. Police say he's been cooperative.

O.J.'s version:

Simpson, 60, has said he and other people with him were retrieving items that belonged to him. Simpson has said there were no guns involved and that he went to the room at the casino only to get stolen mementos that included his Hall of Fame certificate and a picture of the running back with J. Edgar Hoover.

Simpson told The Associated Press on Saturday that he did not call the police to help reclaim the items because he has found the police unresponsive to him ever since his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, were killed in 1994.

"The police, since my trouble, have not worked out for me," he said, noting that whenever he has called the police "It just becomes a story about O.J."

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  • Display: Sort:
    Prescient. I was just about to (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by oculus on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 02:26:23 PM EST
    ask, either in the open thread or in the Hsu thread, who would be posting about O.J.  Perfect.  Alleged victim now supposedly says let's move on.  First reports on AP just referred to "Simpson," and the photo didn't look like the USC .  I thought it was someone else, maybe from Survival of American Idol. But then, I'm not really a football fan.

    Arrested? OJ? (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Edger on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 02:35:56 PM EST
    Wow. He didn't kill anyone did he?

    I don't think this is (none / 0) (#8)
    by Edger on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 02:50:01 PM EST
    what John Prine had in mind, but OJ was probably just trying to have some fun:
    And you may see me tonight with an illegal smile
    It don't cost very much, but it lasts a long while
    Won't you please tell the man I didn't kill anyone
    No I'm just tryin' to have me some fun


    Parent
    Oh no (5.00 / 4) (#3)
    by andgarden on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 02:36:22 PM EST
    Forget hearing about Iraq; we're going all OJ, all the time now.

    Its a conspiracy to shift attention (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by oculus on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 02:38:31 PM EST
    away from the hapless Hsu.

    Parent
    BTW, is thie (5.00 / 2) (#4)
    by oculus on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 02:37:10 PM EST
    crime-related political and injustice news
    ?


    Ummm... (none / 0) (#13)
    by Edger on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 02:56:52 PM EST
    Did you say that with a straight face?

    Parent
    You can't tell yet? (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by oculus on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 02:59:09 PM EST
    I refuse to do those sideways face things.

    Parent
    Sure you do! (none / 0) (#16)
    by Edger on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 03:00:00 PM EST
    :-/

    Parent
    Was he looking for the real killers? eom (5.00 / 3) (#6)
    by Geekesque on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 02:40:22 PM EST


    He was looking for George Clooney (5.00 / 4) (#10)
    by Maryb2004 on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 02:51:04 PM EST
    He wants to be cast in the next Oceans film.

    It was all research.

    Parent

    Another possibility: he (5.00 / 2) (#17)
    by oculus on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 03:02:47 PM EST
    needs new material for another "If I Did It" book to satisfy the civil judgment.  

    Parent
    O.J. is such an easy target (5.00 / 2) (#18)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 03:06:23 PM EST
    Please remember this is a criminal defense oriented site. Don't presume his guilt.

    I'm sure it was Colombian drug dealers. (5.00 / 1) (#27)
    by Geekesque on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 05:23:18 PM EST
    Okay I'll stop.

    Parent
    Well... ;-) (none / 0) (#19)
    by Edger on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 03:16:03 PM EST
    He's probably innocent. Mistaken identity. He was probably nowhere near the place. Probably on the other side of town, and has an ironclad alibi.

    Mistaken identity?

    Parent

    Right! (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by rdandrea on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 07:43:57 PM EST
    It was Colombian drug lords.

    Parent
    Sorry, Mom. We thought you (none / 0) (#20)
    by oculus on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 03:21:51 PM EST
    were out hiking!  

    Parent
    Was J. Edgar wearing a dress? (5.00 / 1) (#42)
    by 1980Ford on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 04:13:06 AM EST
    Just wondering.

    I don't blame Fred Goldman... (5.00 / 1) (#54)
    by Jim Strain on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 04:07:25 PM EST
    I blame the media.  Mr. Goldman's feelings are entirely understandable in human terms. But every time OJ makes the tabloids, the pop news people go running to Fred Goldman, aim a camera at him and ask, "What do YOU think?"  Well, I already know what Fred Goldman thinks, and you know what?  That ain't news.

    What I don't understand (none / 0) (#21)
    by TomStewart on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 04:03:17 PM EST
    is why if this dealer had OJ's stuff, why didn't he call the cops and have them there to confiscate the items? Seriously, he would have saved himself a lot of grief.

    According to OJ (none / 0) (#24)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 04:17:54 PM EST
    in the quoted article,

    Simpson told The Associated Press on Saturday that he did not call the police to help reclaim the items because he has found the police unresponsive to him ever since his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, were killed in 1994.

    "The police, since my trouble, have not worked out for me," he said, noting that whenever he has called the police "It just becomes a story about O.J."



    Parent
    Sorry OJ (none / 0) (#26)
    by TomStewart on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 04:26:19 PM EST
    The police, since my trouble, have not worked out for me," he said, noting that whenever he has called the police "It just becomes a story about O.J.

    Sorry Juice, but it is an OJ story. I wonder why the police might be unresponsive to him?  It isn't right, but I do understand the problems the police might have with OJ.

    Parent

    I think a lot of us wish it were 1995 again.... (none / 0) (#23)
    by jerry on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 04:12:12 PM EST
    Hasn't been such a great 12 years.

    I say we give him a White Bronco and make a new reality show.

    And advise him to step on all the butterflies he can.  Maybe we'll all end up in an alternate future.

    I don't know about the rest... (none / 0) (#25)
    by Edger on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 04:22:30 PM EST
    But 1975... sorry, I mean 1995... sounds like a great idea.

    Parent
    all oj (5.00 / 1) (#28)
    by Jen M on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 06:11:17 PM EST
    all the time?  YUUUUUUUCCCKKKK

    Parent
    Good (none / 0) (#29)
    by rdandrea on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 07:42:35 PM EST
    n/t

    Not call the cops ... (none / 0) (#31)
    by Peter G on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 10:03:21 PM EST
    That's not what he should have done at all.  His story is not that this memorabilia dealer had stolen his stuff.  It's that the dealer/victim had purchased stuff for resale that was stolen from OJ by a former employee or something, and was therefore now in (presumably innocent) possession of it.  What OJ needed to do was not get together a couple of thug friends and try to grab the stuff back himself, but rather go to his lawyer and get a civil injunction against the sale of the (allegedly) stolen merchandise until the question whether it had in fact been stolen from OJ at some point could be worked out.  No one, even in all innocence, has the right to sell or re-sell stolen goods; they go back to the rightful owner -- as many art museums have learned the hard way.  At the same time, no one -- even a theft victim -- has the right to take property from someone else by force.

    Ron Goldman's father (none / 0) (#32)
    by oculus on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 11:16:16 PM EST
    is not reserving judgment:

    "He's believed for years, decades, that he's entitled to do anything he wants, and the legal system and society has basically agreed with him," Goldman said. "This time, hopefully, he'll get what he deserves. He'll get jail time."


    I am so sick of Fred Goldman (none / 0) (#33)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 11:27:33 PM EST
    who cares what he has to say?

    Parent
    I feel the same way about O.J. too. (none / 0) (#34)
    by oculus on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 11:28:47 PM EST
    Then why not find (none / 0) (#35)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 11:36:14 PM EST
    a victims' rights blog? This one defends the rights of persons accused of crime. OJ was acquitted of criminal conduct by a jury. He's now charged with another crime and presumed innocent.

    I'm concerned with whether he will receive a fair bail hearing tomorrow or whether he'll be saddled with an unduly high bond because of his notoriety.

    I have a lot of criticism for the cops doing a perp walk with OJ today. Perp walks (heavily used in NY by Rudy Giuliani by the way for white collar criminals) are inherently prejudicial.

    Parent

    IAs a former prosecutor, I should probably (none / 0) (#37)
    by oculus on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 11:42:52 PM EST
    skip the criminal defense portions of TalkLeft, I admit.  Shall I just participate in the political posts?  Of course O.J. Simpson is entitled to the same rights as any person accused of a crime.  If he were smarter, he wouldn't be talking to law enforcement at all on this matter.  

    Parent
    You go! (none / 0) (#43)
    by 1980Ford on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 04:15:08 AM EST
    There aren't too many sites nowadays that stand up for due process and this is one of best.

    Just sayin'.

    Parent

    Perhaps the criminal defense (none / 0) (#52)
    by oculus on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 12:58:52 PM EST
    portions of this blog should be accessible by password only?

    Parent
    As someone who respects you... (none / 0) (#47)
    by Dadler on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 09:16:22 AM EST
    ...I truly have no conception of the inhumanity you evidence toward Fred Goldman.  Jeralyn, you must be living in some intense form of denial to not comprehend that if what happened to Goldman's child happened to yours...you would be doing exactly what he is.  He has every right to say ANYTHING he wants about the guy who got away with beheading his kid, even if that means he is presuming the guy's guilt -- again, which is EXACTLY what you would do in his position.  And if you don't like it, then don't listen.  Same with TV or blogs you don't like.  Just don't listen.  We are not robots, J.  Sometimes I think you expect us to be.  

    Parent
    he already admitted guilt (none / 0) (#36)
    by diogenes on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 11:36:29 PM EST
    He already admitted guilt; the only question was whether he intended to commit burglary, armed robbery, or simply trespassing in order to "repossess" property that actually belonged to him.


    He already admitted guilt to what? (none / 0) (#38)
    by oculus on Sun Sep 16, 2007 at 11:45:07 PM EST
    OJ Was Set UP - By the Goldman Family? (none / 0) (#39)
    by FedLeft on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 12:13:48 AM EST
    Well, well, another OJ drama. Let's piece this puzzle together. OJ acquitted of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, in 1994. Ron Goldman's father, Fred Goldman vows revenge and in a later civil trial proceeding the jury found Simpson liable for Ron Goldman's wrongful death and awarded the Goldman family $33 million (USD) in damages. Later, following public outrage, OJ's non-published book, "If I Did It" is pulled before release. However, the civil court awards the Goldman family rights to the unpublished book, and they, in what many see as a move crudely profiteering from Ron Goldman's murder, they re-release the book as "If I Did It - Confessions of a Double Murderer." Now, as the book just reaches number one on the NYT best-sellers' list, the Golmans hire con-men to bait OJ into an attempted armed robbery, surely with the help of the two men that accompanied OJ to the meeting who he had met only a short time before, plus the man who was going to sell the OJ loot, who says "Really, I'm on OJ's side in this" suggesting his role in the conspiracy. All this raises questions as to whether the Goldman family will be investigated for their role in these crimes.  

    OJ Was Set UP - By the Goldman Family? (none / 0) (#40)
    by FedLeft on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 02:08:41 AM EST
    More breaking developments:

    "Simpson said he was accompanied by several men he met at a wedding cocktail party, and they took the collectibles.

    Alfred Beardsley, one of the sports memorabilia collectors who was in the hotel room, has said he wants the case dropped and that he's 'on O.J.'s side.'

    'It's like a bad dream,' Beardsley said. 'I'm sad that O.J. is in custody.'

    Beardsley said he blames the whole thing on Riccio. 'If they don't charge Riccio I will be very upset. That guy lied to O.J. and got him all pumped up,' he said.
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070917/ap_on_re_us/simpson_questioned

    So, what were Riccio's motives? Who (Goldman?) put him up to framing OJ? Why was OJ framed mere days after the Goldman's released OJ's book? We have simply must get the FBI involved in this case.

    FBI will be interested, as one of the (none / 0) (#41)
    by oculus on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 02:18:33 AM EST
    missing items of memorabilium was a photo of O.J. Simpson with J. Edgar Hoover.

    Parent
    links must be in html format (none / 0) (#50)
    by Jeralyn on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 11:38:24 AM EST
    or they skew the site. I cannot edit comments, only delete them. Please use the link box on the top of the comment box to post urls. Otherwise, your comment will be deleted.

    Also, you've made your conspiracy point now several times. Please don't let it become chatter. If there is something new, feel free to add it. But don't keep repeating the same thing.

    Thank you.

    Parent

    I smell a Nifong. (none / 0) (#44)
    by 1980Ford on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 04:40:48 AM EST
    Anybody else bet this is all blown out of proportion?

    With luck (none / 0) (#45)
    by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 07:48:29 AM EST
     
    With luck O.J. will 30 years in the slammer.

    Luck?..... (none / 0) (#53)
    by kdog on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 02:36:37 PM EST
    With any luck, the system will work and he won't be tried for crimes he was already tried for.  

    But I ain't holdin' my breath....liberty ain't been running so good lately.

    Parent

    OJ Was Set UP - ByRiccio and the Goldman Family? (none / 0) (#46)
    by FedLeft on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 08:53:45 AM EST
    Latest breaking news, Ronald Goldman:

    "Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, welcomed the possibility that Simpson could go to prison.

    'How wonderful,' he told 'The Early Show.'

    'A lot of years too late, however. I would have much preferred him found guilty of Ron and Nicole's death and then put either to death or in jail then. But frankly to see him ultimately or potentially go to jail -- that's great.'"
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070917/ap_on_re_us/simpson_questioned

    How does Goldman tie in with Riccio? Did Goldman put Riccio up to framing O.J.? Why was O.J. framed mere days after the Goldman family released O.J.'s book, does Ron Goldman hope that the free publicity will boost book sales? We simply must get the FBI involved in this case.  

    The Circus is back in town (none / 0) (#48)
    by scribe on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 10:36:00 AM EST
    And we're getting tickets, whether we like it or not.

    Can you sting yes or no. (none / 0) (#49)
    by Saul on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 11:20:27 AM EST
    Abrhams on MSNBC about OJ said that only the police can do sting operations.  Attorney Black also on the interview told Abrhams no, MSNBC does them with the series predator where they are interview people who come to a particular home looking for sex with some one they met on the internet.  Abrahams became very defensive saying that was not sting but undercover.  Black laughed and said come on that a sting.  Who is correct?

    well, in "The Sting," Paul Newman (none / 0) (#51)
    by oculus on Mon Sep 17, 2007 at 12:57:31 PM EST
    wasn't a cop.

    Parent