A steaming mad Las Vegas judge has squeezed O.J. Simpson for double his bail.
The beleaguered former NFL star posted $250,000 bail at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, double the amount it took to get him out of a Sin City lockup when he was first arrested in September in connection with his pending armed-robbery case.
The money was put up by Simpson pal Tom Scotto, who said he coordinated with four other friends to raise the bail money.
Police said it usually takes between six and 12 hours to process a prisoner's release after bail has been posted.
Simpson departed the Las Vegas area for Miami early Thursday morning.
On Wednesday, Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass upped his get-out-of-jail fee after he violated the terms of his original bail by trying to contact a codefendant in his case.
"I don't know, Mr. Simpson, what the heck you were thinking. Or maybe that's the problem—you weren't," Glass told Simpson.
"I don't know if it's just arrogance. I don't know if it's ignorance. But you've been locked up at the Clark County Detention Center since Friday because of arrogance or ignorance—or both." (See video of the court appearance. )
She warned Simpson that if he disobeyed the court order again, he would be sent directly to the slammer.
A glum-looking Simpson, dressed in prison garb, acknowledged that he understood the judge's terms.
Prosecutors had asked that Simpson's bail be increased to $1 million or for him to remain behind bars until his trial, but his attorney, Yale Galanter argued he was neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk, pointing out that Simpson "cannot even walk out of his front door without TV cameras following him."
Simpson was picked up by his bail bondsman, Miguel Pereira, in Miami Friday and brought back to Las Vegas on allegations that he violated the terms of his release.
The district attorney said Simpson left Pereira an expletive-laced phone message on Nov. 16, asking him to convey to codefendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart how frustrated he was about the testimony delivered during their preliminary hearing.
"I just want, want C.J. to know that the whole thing all the time he was tellin' me that s--t, ya know, I hope he was telling me the truth don't be trying to change the mother f--king s--t now, mother f--king a--holes. I'm tired of this s--t. Fed up with mother f--kers changing what they told me, all right?" Simpson reportedly said in the message.
Galanter immediately confirmed that his client had indeed made the call, and the judge did not allow the recording to be played in court.
Pereira also testified about the call during the bail hearing, and admitted under cross-examination by Galanter that he never sent Simpson a bill for the 15 percent premium on the $125,000 bond he put up, nor did he place a lien on Simpson's house, although the former football hero gave him power of attorney.
Galanter charged that Pereira only put up Simpson's bond for the publicity, calling him "a piranha" outside court.
This time around, the judge said Simpson would be forced to remain behind bars until he paid the premium on his $250,000 bail, no matter how long that might take.
"I tell you, I don't want him out of the jail" until it's paid, Glass said.
Galanter said a lien would also be placed on Simpson's Florida home.
Simpson's codefendants, Stewart and Charles Ehrlich, were not required to appear in court for the hearing and remain free on bail.
Simpson, Stewart and Erlich pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, coercion and conspiracy on Nov. 28. If convicted on the kidnapping charge, they could face life in prison, while an armed-robbery conviction also carries mandatory prison time.
Three other individuals involved in the attempted memorabilia heist have pleaded guilty to lesser charges and testified against Simpson at a previous hearing.
For his part, Simpson has denied that he asked anyone to carry guns during the September confrontation with memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley, claiming he only intended to retrieve items that had been stolen from him by a former agent.
(Originally published Jan. 16, 2008 at 11:20 a.m. PT)