O.J. Simpson is being held in a Clark County, Nevada, prison after he and a co-defendant were convicted October 3rd of robbing a pair of sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas hotel.
The verdict came down after 13 hours of jury deliberations on October 3rd, 13 years to the day that Simpson was acquitted of murdering his late wife Nicole Brown Simpson and friend Ron Goldman in what was termed The Trial Of The Century in 1995.
A county clerk read off a dozen guilty verdicts against him and co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart for their roles in the botched robbery, in which Simpson and five others barged into a room at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino to forcibly retrieve memorabilia from dealers Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley that Simpson says was stolen from him.
Here, the county clerk reads off the first five counts against Simpson: "Verdict: We the jury in the above entitled case find the defendant Orenthal James Simpson as follows: Count one, conspiracy to commit a crime, guilty. Count two, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, guilty. Count three, conspiracy to commit robbery, guilty. Count four, burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon, guilty. Count five, first degree kidnapping with the use of a deadly weapon, Bruce Fromong, guilty. Count six, first degree kidnapping with the use of a deadly weapon, Alfred Beardsley, guilty. Count seven, robbery with use of a deadly weapon, Bruce Fromong, guilty. Count eight, robbery with use of a deadly weapon, Alfred Beardsley, guilty. Count nine, assault with a deadly weapon, Bruce Fromong, guilty. Count ten, assault with a deadly weapon, Alfred Beardsley, guilty. Count eleven, coercion with use of a deadly weapon, Bruce Fromong, alternative to count five, guilty of coercion with use of a deadly weapon. Count twelve, coercion with use of a deadly weapon, Alfred Beardsley, alternative to count six. guilty of coercion with use of a deadly weapon."
Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass confirms the jury's verdict: (Judge) "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, are these your verdicts as read, so say you one, so say you all, as to defendant Orenthal James Simpson?" (Jury) "Yes."
Judge Glass rejected requests by lawyers for Simpson, who is 61, and Stewart, who is 54, that they be allowed to remain free until the December 5th sentencing. The two face a minimum of five years in prison but could be handed life sentences.
The defense had argued that Simpson was seeking to redress a property dispute and had no idea that the others had brought guns to the room.
The prosecution argued that Simpson's actions had grown out of grudges the former football star had held since his murder trial and civil case, and suggested that they could right a wrong by convicting him. "You will be able to write that final chapter, the chapter of arrogance and hypocrisy and that will be the true verdict. The verdict you can feel good about," prosecutor Christopher Owens told the jury, according to Reuters.
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