LAS VEGAS – A judge set bail Wednesday
at $125,000 for O.J. Simpson in
connection with the armed robbery
of sports memorabilia collectors at
a Las Vegas hotel. His attorney later
said he expected the former football
star to be released within hours and
returned to Florida.
Simpson, standing in court in a blue
jail uniform and handcuffs, furrowed
his brow as the judge read the list of
charges against him.
He answered quietly in a hoarse
voice and nodded as Justice of the
Peace Joe Bonaventure Jr. laid out
restrictions for his release, including
surrendering his passport to his
attorney and having no contact with
co-defendants or potential witnesses.
Simpson did not enter a plea.
Unlike his arraignment more than a
decade ago in the 1994 killings of his
ex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman,
when Simpson declared he was “absolutely
100 percent not guilty,” he was subdued
throughout the proceeding Wednesday.
“Mr. Simpson, do you understand
the charges against you?” the judge
asked.
“Yes, sir,” Simpson responded.
Attorney Yale Galanter said after
the hearing that the $125,000 bond
was reasonable and had already been
arranged for Simpson. He said Simpson
would plead not guilty.
Simpson, 60, was arrested Sunday
after a collector reported a group of
armed men charged into his hotel room
at the Palace Station casino and took
several items that Simpson claimed
belonged to him.
The memorabilia taken from the
hotel room included football game
balls signed by Simpson, Joe Montana
lithographs, baseballs autographed by
Pete Rose and Duke Snider and framed
awards and plaques, together valued at
as much as $100,000.