According to O.J. Simpson, all he wanted to do on the night of Sept. 13, 2007 was retrieve sports memorabilia that was rightfully his.
Instead, the former NFL star found himself facing a dozen charges in connction to an alleged armed robbery in Las Vegas at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino and an intense media circus that conjured up images of Simpson's infamous 1994 criminal trial for the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman, of which he was acquitted.
Prosecutors believe Simpson and a group of six other men forcibly entered sports memorabilia collector Bruce Fromong's hotel room at Palace Station and robbed him at gunpoint on Sept. 13. Simpson has denied both breaking into the room and the use of weapons by him or the two other co-defendants. Simpson was arrested on Sept. 16 and formally charged two days later.
In response to the allegations, Simpson told the LA Times, "I'm OJ Simpson. How am I going to think that I'm going to rob somebody and get away with it? Besides, I thought what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas."
Not surprisingly, national and local news bolted to Las Vegas, focusing copious amounts of airtime on Simpson. Downtown Las Vegas was flooded with reporters, spectators and gutsy promoters who used the coverage for free publicity for their stage shows and radio programs. Steve Freiss, a columnist at the Sun's sister publication Las Vegas Weekly, called the scene "Cirque du OJ" and likened the overblown media coverage as Vegas' latest dazzling attraction.
After posting bail on Sept. 19, Simpson returned home to Florida and temporarily ended the media mayhem that had descended upon the Clark County judicial system. However, Simpson was back in Las Vegas and the spotlight on Jan. 12, accused of violating the terms of his bail by attempting to communicate with co-defendant Clarence "CJ" Stewart.
Simpson and his co-defendants' trial is set for September.
For complete coverage of the O.J. Simpson case, check out the Sun's blog on Simpson at blogs.lasvegassun.com/ojsimpson.
— Sun intern April Corbin compiled this report.
