O.J. Simpson Found Guilty of Armed Robbery in Memorabilia Heist

O.J. Simpson Found Guilty of Armed Robbery in Memorabilia Heist

O.J. Simpson, the former Buffalo Bills football player acquitted 13 years ago of murdering his ex-wife and her friend, faces life in prison after he was convicted of robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint.

A jury found Simpson guilty of armed robbery, kidnapping and 10 other counts after deliberating for almost 13 hours yesterday, following a three-week trial in Nevada state court in Las Vegas. Simpson and five others were accused of robbing Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley at the Palace Station hotel casino in Las Vegas in September last year.

Simpson, 61, took items including footballs with his autograph, prosecutors said. Simpson said he was trying to recover family heirlooms and personal photographs stolen from him. He denied there were guns in the hotel room during the robbery. His codefendant, Clarence Stewart, was also found guilty on all 12 counts.

The jury “already had a fixed opinion” about Simpson, the former football star’s lawyer, Yale Galanter, said outside the courthouse following the verdict.
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Thomas Riccio, the man who set up the meeting between Simpson and the memorabilia dealers, tape-recorded the alleged robbery and previous conversations at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. [...]In the recordings of Simpson, played by prosecutors during the trial, the former football star said “I gotta be at my intimidating best,” and “We gonna get it all back,” prior to the alleged crime.