O.J. Simpson Found Guilty of Kidnapping and Armed Robbery

The verdict came down late last night. From CNN:

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- Former gridiron great O.J. Simpson was found guilty Friday of all 12 counts in the armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas, Nevada, casino hotel last year.
The jury reached the verdict 13 years to the day after O.J. Simpson was acquitted of two murders.

Simpson, 61, and his co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart, 54, were charged with a dozen offenses stemming from the sports memorabilia heist. Stewart was found guilty of the same charges as Simpson.

Simpson sat quietly and showed little emotion at the defense table as courtroom clerk Sandra Jeter read the verdicts.

After the verdicts were read, deputies immediately handcuffed Simpson and led him out of the courtroom. Video: Watch O.J. Simpson verdict being read »

According to the Associated Press, Carmelita Durio, Simpson's sister, sobbed as he was being escorted out of the courtroom. As spectators left the courtroom, Durio collapsed and paramedics were called, court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer said.

Simpson and Stewart could spend the rest of their lives in prison for these convictions. Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass set sentencing for December 5. Video: Watch O.J. Simpson being removed from court »

Simpson arrived at the Clark County Justice Center at around 10:50 p.m. (1:50 a.m. Saturday ET). Simpson told CNN's Ted Rowlands on the phone before the verdict was read that he was "apprehensive."

The jury of nine men and three women, none of them African-American, reached its verdict after 13 hours of deliberations Friday. Jurors heard from 22 witnesses over 12 days of testimony. Chief among the witnesses were seven of the nine people inside Room 1203 of the Palace Station Hotel and Casino for the September 13, 2007, confrontation.

The evidence included testimony from the two dealers, four co-defendants who cut plea deals and cooperated with prosecutors, and hours of often-profane, crackling, secretly recorded audiotapes.

Prosecutors alleged that the men, led by Simpson, burst into the room, flashed a gun and threatened memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Al Beardsley.

The men then filled two pillowcases with Simpson trinkets, signed Pete Rose baseballs and Joe Montana lithographs. Simpson's defense attorneys maintained their client was merely trying to retrieve personal photographs and other mementos that belonged to him.

Merely trying to retrieve, huh? The audio of the confrontation didn't sound like a retrieval to me. To me, he sounded belligerent, especially with all the profanity. Whether there were guns or not, he sure sounded threatening to me. (If anyone has a link to the audio, please share it.)

It is a shame that this former football star spent his remaining years practicing self-sabotage. You would think that after being found not guilty in the biggest murder trial of the 20th century, he would do anything and everything to stay out of trouble. Yet, he dodged paying his civil suit judgment, stole cable, published a book called "If I Did It" and so on. It's almost like he wanted a tragic end. I don't feel sorry for him. My heart goes out to his family who still loved him in spite of the unmeasurable anguish he put them through.

Maybe one day he'll wake up and realize the error of his ways, but he'll be doing it behind bars.

 
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posted by Walt on 10/06/08 at 08:24 AM

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posted by Walt on 10/06/08 at 09:00 AM