State of Nevada v. Orenthal James Simpson, et al, Case Number: 07C237890-4. was a criminal case prosecuted from 2007 to 2008 in the U.S. state of Nevada, primarily involving the former NFL player and actor O. J. Simpson.
On the night of September 13, 2007, a group of men led by Simpson entered a room in the Palace Station hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bruce Fromong, a sports memorabilia dealer, testified that the group broke into his hotel room and stole memorabilia at gunpoint. Three days later, on September 16, 2007, Simpson was arrested and initially held without bail. He admitted taking the items, which he said had been stolen from him, but denied breaking into the room. Simpson also denied the allegation that he or the people with him carried weapons. Bail was later set at $125,000.
On October 3, 2008—exactly 13 years after he was acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman—Simpson was found guilty of all 12 charges. Immediately after the verdict was read, Simpson, who had been free on bail prior to this point, was handcuffed and remanded to the Clark County detention center without bail, pending sentencing. On December 5, 2008, Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison with eligibility for parole in nine years (in October 2017). On July 20, 2017, Simpson was granted parole, and was freed three months later. In December 2021, he was granted early discharge from parole.
Robbery
Alfred Beardsley, a memorabilia dealer, contacted Tom Riccio, another memorabilia dealer, regarding a trove of Simpson items Beardsley had in Las Vegas. Riccio then informed Simpson of the items. Claiming that the memorabilia were stolen from him, Simpson, along with Riccio, devised a plan to confront the dealers and get them back. Simpson, who was already planning on going to Las Vegas for a wedding, recruited some wedding guests for the operation. The robbery was planned at Palms Casino Resort. Bruce Fromong, another memorabilia dealer and a friend of Simpson's, met with Beardsley and Riccio in room 1203 at the Palace Station, a room Riccio had rented. Beardsley had contacted Fromong about a client hoping to buy a large amount of Simpson memorabilia; Fromong was unaware the client was Simpson.Herzog, Kenny. Bruce Fromong, the Man Was Convicted Of Robbing at Gunpoint, on That Crazy Night In Vegas . Vulture.com. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016. Riccio had Beardsley and Fromong move the items into the room and spread the memorabilia on the bed to create a display. After a pre-wedding dinner, Simpson and five accomplices drove to the Palace Station, where they met Riccio in the lobby. After some confusion over the room's location, Simpson's party entered the room at 7:38 pm.Powers, Ashley; Glover, Scott; Bustillo, Miguel. Simpson's rogue collection. latimes.com. 22 September 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
When the group entered the room, Simpson ordered his group to not allow anybody to leave.Arseniuk, Melissa. Simpson jury tunes in to audio recordings of hotel run-in . Las Vegas Sun. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2016. Simpson and Beardsley proceeded to argue over where the memorabilia came from. During the confrontation, accomplice Michael McClinton threatened Fromong with a gun. Simpson's group then stuffed Simpson memorabilia, along with autographed Pete Rose baseballs and Joe Montana lithographs, into pillowcases.Grinberg, Emanuella. Guns, tapes key to 'bad sequel' Simpson trial. CNN. 15 September 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2016. The party then returned to the Palms Casino Resort. The confrontation lasted about six minutes.
Involved parties
O. J. Simpson: Sentenced to prison for 33 years with a chance of parole after 9 years. Walter Alexander: Accomplice of Simpson. He brought a gun into the room. Sentenced to probation. Clarence "C. J." Stewart: Accomplice of Simpson and driver of a Lincoln Navigator used to haul the items after the incident. Stewart stood by Simpson during the trial and did not negotiate a plea deal. Judge Jackie Glass sentenced Stewart, the only Simpson cohort who did not negotiate a plea deal, to 15 years in jail, eligible for parole after 90 months. Stewart's conviction was later overturned because the verdict was tainted by Simpson's fame, and he was released after a plea deal with time served. Ryan Braun: Accomplice of Simpson. He introduced himself as a friend of Stewart's. He carried items out of the room. He first met Simpson on the day of the robbery. Sentenced to probation. Charles Ehrlich: Accomplice of Simpson. A friend of Simpson's from South Florida, he pretended to be a buyer who would first check out the goods. Sentenced to probation. Michael McClinton: Accomplice of Simpson. Acquaintance of Alexander's and Stewart's. He brought a gun into the room and made an audio recording of events that was later used at trial. In the room, McClinton pulled out a .45-caliber Ruger and barked orders at the dealers, as Simpson reportedly told him to do. Afterward in the hallway McClinton secretly taped Simpson asking whether McClinton pulled out "the piece." On the recording the participants are heard at a sushi restaurant laughing about the six-minute encounter. Sentenced to probation. Thomas Riccio: Auction owner and convicted felon who informed Simpson about the stolen goods, and subsequently taped the whole event on a recorder. Riccio sold the tape for $150,000 to TMZ.com. Riccio also testified that he was paid an additional $60,000 by television stations for appearances. Riccio was given total immunity for his testimony by Clark County District Attorney David Roger after a negotiation with Riccio's attorney Stanley Lieber. Bruce Fromong: Memorabilia dealer that Simpson gang robbed. Alfred Beardsley: Memorabilia dealer in the room with Fromong when the Simpson gang arrived, bribed by Simpson to change his testimony at the trial.
Simpson's attorneys Yale Galanter was an attorney who had represented Simpson in Florida prior to this incident. According to Simpson, Galanter encouraged Simpson to retrieve his personal items. Galanter was with Simpson in Las Vegas prior to the robbery. The former star athlete said Galanter told him during a dinner discussion in Las Vegas, "you have the right to get your stuff", but cautioned he could not trespass on private property. Simpson said he told Galanter that if the suit he wore during his sensational 1990s murder trial was included among the memorabilia, he planned to burn it, and Galanter responded: "You're not going to burn it, you're going to bring it to me." In his testimony, Simpson stated that he gave the property stolen in Las Vegas to Galanter. Simpson testified that he paid Galanter $125,000 to make a video montage for the appeal, but no video montage was ever made.
Simpson's attempt to secure a new trial centered around his claim that Galanter was incompetent and had a conflict of interest; this argument was rejected by the trial court and Nevada's supreme court. Gabriel L. Grasso, Galanter's former friend and co-counsel, said the lawyer complained during the case that he did not have money to hire investigators or an expert to analyze a critical audio recording from the night of the heist.
Investigation and trial
Investigators initially named Simpson a suspect, but questioned him the next day and released him soon after. On September 15, one of the accomplices, Walter Alexander, was arrested and charged with two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of burglary with a deadly weapon. Alexander was on his way to McCarran International Airport when he was approached by the police. Earlier in the day, two guns were recovered when the police executed a warrant at one of the men's homes.
On September 16, Simpson was arrested by Clark County, Nevada, authorities. The celebrity gossip website TMZ.com published an audio recording of the incident which indicated Simpson and others shouted at the occupants of the room and demanded the return of various items. On the audiotape, recorded by Thomas Riccio, Simpson is heard saying: "Don't let nobody out of this room. ... Motherfucker, you think you can steal my shit and sell it?""Simpson could be charged 'in next few days'" , CNN. September 17, 2007. An FBI expert witness claimed that the tapes had "over-recordings" and "might" have been altered. Riccio reportedly said he tipped off Simpson to go to the hotel to look for his goods, and he reportedly said he deliberately planted the recording device to prove to Simpson that Beardsley and Fromong were fencing his stuff. Riccio considers Simpson a friend, and brought Simpson to the room and escorted him and the memorabilia out.
On the day after the incident, in a 20-minute interview with the L.A. Times, Simpson brushed off the allegations saying, "I'm Simpson. How am I going to think that I'm going to rob somebody and get away with it? Besides, I thought what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas... 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."
In an interview, Walter Alexander said he thought the whole incident was a setup to get Simpson. He does not "understand what the big deal is", or why Riccio would set this whole operation up, tape it and then sell the tape to the media. Alexander's ex-wife gave an interview to The New York Times in which she said many people carry tape recorders with them around Simpson to try and catch him slipping so they can profit from it. During police questioning, Alexander said Simpson asked for guns to be carried to look tough but that the guns would not be used. He also added that McClinton impersonated a police officer and acted too rough to the surprise of the others, including Simpson. He claims Simpson repeatedly told McClinton to "calm down, calm down."
Simpson appeared in court on September 19, 2007. Represented by attorneys from Florida and Nevada, Simpson was granted a bail of $125,000. Presiding Justice of the Peace Joe M. Bonaventure Jr., stated that Simpson was not allowed to have any contact with any of the co-defendants, and must surrender his passport. Simpson did not enter a plea. Both Clarence Stewart and Simpson were charged with: Count 1: Conspiracy to commit a crime Count 2: Conspiracy to commit kidnapping Count 3: Conspiracy to commit robbery Count 4: Burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon Count 5: 1st degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon (for Bruce Fromong) Count 6: 1st degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon (for Alfred Beardsley) Count 7: Robbery with use of a deadly weapon (for Bruce Fromong) Count 8: Robbery with use of a deadly weapon (for Alfred Beardsley) Count 9: Assault with a deadly weapon (for Bruce Fromong) Count 10: Assault with a deadly weapon (for Alfred Beardsley) Count 11: Coercion with a deadly weapon (for Bruce Fromong as an alternative to count 5) Count 12: Coercion with a deadly weapon (for Alfred Beardsley as an alternative to count 6)
Simpson's order to not allow anybody to leave the room was the reason for the kidnapping charges. Simpson found guilty of all charges in Nevada . Associated Press. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
After posting bail on September 20, Simpson returned to his home in Miami. Later on, Simpson breached bail conditions by having contact with another defendant. Simpson was arrested in Miami, extradited to Nevada, and faced another hearing. On January 16, 2008, a new hearing for bail was set. At the hearing, Simpson was given bail. However, his bail was raised to $250,000. He returned home to Miami the next day.