It was quite arguably the verdict of the century. On Oct. 3, 1995, Orenthal James Simpson, better known to us as "O.J.," was acquitted of the atrocious murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Upon the jury declaring the verdict, the first thing O.J. said was, "Give me my hat and gloves. I’m out of here!" OK, maybe not. Nonetheless, only 12 years later, the man who most Americans view as having evaded the justice system, has now been arrested and charged with armed robbery.
On Thursday, O.J.’s sociopathic nature manifested itself at the Palace Station casino hotel in Las Vegas. Simpson told the Associated Press that auction house owner Tom Riccio called him several times to notify him that two individuals, Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong, had some of his sports memorabilia, allegedly stolen from Simpson, and were looking to sell it.
According to the Las Vegas Police Department, Simpson set up a "sting operation" with Riccio to meet the memorabilia dealers in a Palace Station hotel room. Simpson, along with four goons that accompanied him, thundered into the room in an attempt to reclaim the items. Although the apparent vigilante actions of O.J. are in and of itself inexcusable, there are proper legal outlets to handle stolen property.
Evidence has concluded that two of his cronies were wielding guns back and forth at the victims in an effort to illustrate their seriousness. And if matters could not possibly get worse for "The Juice," did he not only reclaim his items but also then proceeded to get sticky fingers and collect memorabilia that he never owned – Joe Montana lithographs and autographed baseballs. Can you say hello multiple felony counts?
Three days after the incident, O.J. was arrested and charged with two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit burglary and burglary with a firearm. Although O.J. would once again hope to prove that he is above the law by arguing that his actions were reasonable, the fact that he engaged in a premeditated "sting operation" with handguns ups the ante.
According to the law, all you need for a charge of conspiracy to transpire is an agreement with two or more individuals and a mutual understanding between them to employ an unlawful plan. The very fact that Simpson had not one, but four thugs accompanying him automatically qualifies this case a conspiracy. Moreover, Simpson can thank his ego for showing no restraint when speaking with the media. O.J. openly admitted to conducting a "sting operation" to regain his items and felt that he never had to involve the police since he has had "problems with them in the past."
On a personal level, I find this incident karmic. O.J. could finally see time behind prison walls, not for the double murder of Nicole Brown or Ron Goldman, but because of the armed robbery charges. The irony would be unreal. Although Simpson is no stranger to the law, he has always managed to squirm his way out of its grasp.
O.J. will be arraigned today and option whether to grant bail will be considered. Remember the white bronco and the slow speed chase that seemed like it would never end? Questions of whether or not Simpson classifies as a "flight-risk" ought to be apparent.
I guess O.J. had to find out the hard way – what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas.
