O.J. Stays Put in Jail, for Now

Mon., Sep. 17, 2007 1:37 PM PDT by Gina Serpe

O.J. Simpson will have his day in court. Just not yet.

Nevada officials have set a Wednesday bond hearing for the Naked Gun star and former footballer, who was arrested and booked on a litany of charges Sunday for his suspected role in an armed robbery of sports memorabilia last week. Simpson, 60, remains locked up in Clark County Detention Center without bail.

At the forthcoming hearing, which could potentially cover both bail and arraignment, the Clark County District Attorney's Office will file formal charges against Simpson—he was booked Sunday on six counts, including robbery with a deadly weapon and assault with a deadly weapon. The prosecutor will also inform the court whether the case will be referred to a grand jury for even more charges.

Clark County Judge Nancy Oesterle, designated as the case's "media judge," set the court date. The judge who will actually preside over the Simpson proceedings Wednesday is Ann Zimmerman.

At a press conference Monday, Oesterle said that Nevada law allows suspects to be held for up to 72 hours after arrest without bail. Meaning if Zimmerman doesn't set an amount at Wednesday's hearing, Simpson will be able to walk out of the detention center completely free of charge. Financial charge, anyway.

Oesterle said that the judge who initially decided Sunday to hold Simpson without bail is out of town, and that the court has not yet gotten into contact with him to find out why he made that ruling.

"Unless Judge Zimmerman for whatever reason decided to change it, it will remain a no-bail hold until there is a bail hearing," Oesterle said. "I doubt it will be changed before Wednesday morning at eight o'clock."

Simpson was arrested at the Palms resort at 11 a.m. Sunday and booked on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit burglary and burglary with a firearm.

The charges stem from a Thursday incident at the Palace Station Hotel & Casion. There are widely varying details to what exactly went down. Simpson described the event as his own "sting operation" to retrieve some personal belongings he claims were stolen from a storage space owned by his late mother. He also maintains he was not armed during the confrontation.

Several hours after Simpson was cuffed and hauled off to the police station, audiotape of the incident was posted online by TMZ. The six-minute recording was purportedly made by Thomas Riccio, the co-owner of the Universal Rarities auction house and one of four men who accompanied Simpson in his bid to recover the goods.

On the tape, Simpson can be heard yelling at the collectors to "get against the motherf--king wall...You think you can steal my s--t and get away with it?" To the men accompanying him on his recon mission, he screams, "Don't let nobody out of this room."

It's unclear if Riccio is the fourth man Las Vegas police are seeking in connection with the case. On Sunday, police announced they were trying track down two local men, Clarence Stewart, 53, and Michael McClinton, 49, along with someone named Tom Scotto, whose age was not known, and a fourth, unidentified man.

On Saturday night, another suspected accomplice, Simpson's golf buddy Walter Alexander, 46, was arrested. The Arizona resident was rung up on two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary with a deadly weapon. He was released on his own recognizance.

If convicted, Simpson faces a maximum penalty of three to 35 years per count.

But this might drag out into another Trial of the Century.

Said Oesterle: "If in fact [Simpson] has an attorney or he qualifies for a free attorney on Wednesday, and then if he enters a 'not guilty' plea, it would then be sent down within 15 days for a speedy preliminary hearing."