Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog
Former football star O.J. Simpson was arrested on Sunday. He was charged with six felonies related to an armed robbery at the Palace Station Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas.
Simpson was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, one count of burglary with a firearm, and one count of conspiracy to commit burglary. He is being held without bail.
According to the former football star, he and a number of people he met at a cocktail party conducted a “sting operation” last Thursday to retrieve some stolen sports memorabilia that belonged to him. He has denied committing any crime.
Sports memorabilia dealer Alfred Beardsley says that Simpson and four men came into his room at the hotel and took memorabilia, including pictures and books signed by Simpson, Beardsley’s cell phone, and lithographs of former San Francisco 49er football player quarterback Joe Montana with them. Beardlsey says that two of the men were armed.
Simpson says that he and the men went into the hotel room and pretended that they wanted to buy the suit that he wore to court in 1995 on the day he was acquitted for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. They also took a picture of former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover with them, as well as Simpson’s Hall of Fame Certificate. Simpson says that the items that had belonged to him had been stolen from him a number of years ago.
Theft crimes are punishable criminal offenses. Petty theft crimes (involving less than $250), shoplifting, grand larceny (involving more than $250), forgery, stealing property, auto theft, accepting stolen property, burglary, pick pocketing, mail fraud, robbery, and burglary, and white collar theft are all theft crimes.
The value and nature of the stolen items and whether the person has any prior criminal conviction can affect the penalty of a person convicted of a theft crime. A theft where more than $250 in property was stolen is considered a felony crime.
Also arrested on Saturday in connection to the robbery is Walter Alexander, 46. He was arrested on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, burglary with a dead weapon, and conspiracy to commit robbery.
O.J. Simpson Arrested on Robbery Charges, New York Times, September 16, 2007
O.J. Simpson Arrested in Vegas Robbery, AP, September 16, 2007
Sports Memorabilia Dealer Implicates O.J. Simpson in Hotel Room Robbery, NY Times, September 15, 2007
Related Web Resources:
Palace Station Hotel and Casino
If you are under investigation or arrested for a theft crime in Massachusetts, you should contact a good criminal defense attorney right away. Your lawyer can make sure that all evidence against you is properly collected and that any witnesses for the prosecution are properly examined. Your criminal defense lawyer might even be able to get the charges against you reduced or dropped.
Contact Altman & Altman LLP and ask for your free consultation with one of our criminal defense lawyers.
