O.J. Simpson
Gossip (Page 3)

So many celebrity mug shots, so little time. Some of 2007's sensational arrests of Hollywood stars were so memorable, it feels as though they happened yesterday.

Well, with the exception of Michelle Rodriguez, none of the celebrity mug shots in our growing gallery were actually taken yesterday. But let's take a look back at some of the best booking photos from 2007. You'll see some themes developing ...

Ho Train Edition

What it year it was for the club circuit. Paris Hilton. Lindsay Lohan. Nicole Richie. Three of Hollywood's biggest celebrities (and wastes of space), all arrested in a 12-month span. Britney Spears is all that's missing from this Ho Train police lineup, after somehow managing not to get busted in '07. Opening odds for '08 - 9:8.

Reality TV Edition

Former American Idol reject Jessica Sierra not only got arrested this year, but she is apparently pregnant, and starring in a sex tape. That's one way to get back in the celebrity gossip magazines! Meanwhile, former Laguna Beach stars Jason Wahler (assault, assault) and Jessica Smith (DUI) both had their share of legal woes...

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O.J. Simpson and his pair of alleged looting teammates - Clarence Stewart and Charles Ehrlich - pleaded not guilty this morning to 12 charges stemming from a September memorabilia heist in Las Vegas. Let the trial begin!

Defense attorneys were unable to get any of the charges against them dropped in a preliminary hearing - especially the kidnapping and robbery charges - which could dole a life sentence (with the possibility of parole) to the Juice.

If convicted, O.J. Simpson could face up to life in prison.

Unlike O.J. Simpson's famous "absolutely, 100 percent not guilty" proclamation while being arraigned for murder in the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in 1994, this time the former NFL star offered his plea without theatrics, uttering a simple but firm "Not guilty."

The trial is set for April 7, 2008. OJ Simpson, who is free on bail, will likely be killing ... time golfing with family and Christie Prody until then.

If this sullen, devoted Britney Spears fan thought she had Craziest Protester of the Day honors locked up, well, she'd better think again. And go on a diet.

This guy is giving her a run for her money. Holding up a sign in support of Spears is one thing - but ... O.J. Simpson? Set up? What is this, 1994? Wrong trial, man! What possesses a person to believe - let alone make a sign expressing that!?

Then there's the hundreds of people marching around Hollywood demanding better online royalty rates and whatnot. The Writers Guild of America is on strike, and the future of most non-reality shows is very much in doubt as a result.

Hopefully, Tina Fey and her clever cohorts get their money soon so they can get back to work writing the shows we know and love. As for the O.J. Simpson fan here, well, he'd better not hold his breath waiting for an acquittal.

More than a decade after his acquittal on murder charges, a judge ruled that O.J. Simpson will stand trial and again face the possibility of life imprisonment.

The former football star said he wasn't surprised when a justice ordered him to stand trail on charges ranging from kidnapping to armed robbery.

"If I have any disappointment it's that I wish a jury was here," Simpson told The Associated Press. "As always, I rely on the jury system."

Indeed, it's worked for him in the past, somehow.

Justice of the Peace Joe M. Bonaventure refused to dismiss any charges in a 12-count complaint against O.J. Simpson and co-defendants Clarence "C.J." Stewart and Charles "Charlie" Ehrlich, stemming from a suspected kidnapping and robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers on September 13.

O.J. Simpson and two co-defendants will be arraigned November 28.

Three of the men who accompanied O.J. Simpson on his little "sting operation," including two who said O.J. wanted to "bring some heat" to the meeting, took plea deals and testified for the prosecution in the preliminary hearing.

Defense attorneys characterized them as con artists out for a buck.

Bonaventure said there were a number of motive and credibility issues, but that they were "not so incredible or implausible" to keep the case from a jury trial.

A kidnapping conviction could result in a life sentence with possibility of parole. An armed robbery conviction would also require some time in prison.

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O.J. Simpson told two friends to "get some heat" so they could bully a pair of memorabilia dealers into handing over sports collectibles and items that the former NFL star said had been stolen from him, one of men testified.

Walter Alexander testified during the preliminary hearing for Simpson - who is charged with multiple felonies stemming from the September incident at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Alexander, a longtime golfing buddy of O.J. Simpson's, said he had asked OJ why he hadn't simply told authorities that the dealers were planning to sell the signed footballs, framed awards and other items of his.

"What are they [police] going to do, take me to jail for taking my own stuff?" OJ Simpson said in between expletives, according to Alexander.

He also testified that the Juice responded, "F**k the police!" when he was questioned about what would happen if the cops were called.

Listening in court, a pained Simpson winced and shook his head. Alexander's account undercuts Simpson's repeated assertions that he did not know that Alexander and their friend Michael "Spencer" McClinton were armed.

Walter Alexander, Michael McClinton and Charles Cashmore have all pleaded guilty to reduced charges in exchange for testimony against O.J. Simpson.

At the end of the hearing, Justice Joe M. Bonaventure will decide whether there is sufficient evidence for Simpson - acquitted in the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman - to stand trial.

OJ Simpson and associates Clarence J. Stewart Jr. and Charles B. Ehrlich are charged with an array of felonies, including kidnapping and armed robbery.

Simpson's attorney, Yale Galanter, tried to attack Walter Alexander's credibility, accusing him of brokering prostitution - calling him a "pimp, not a Realtor" and a shady character who would offer his testimony to the highest bidder.

When Galanter confronted Alexander about his link to an online prostitution ring, the witness' easygoing manner evaporated. He told the attorney to stop yelling. "I'm sticking to my testimony that I'm not a pimp," Alexander said.

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While Blake Fielder-Civil may be in some deep $h!t for perverting the course of justice in London, at least he can take comfort in the fact that he's not O.J.

The first day of O.J. Simpson's criminal evidence hearing in Clark County, Nev., was marked by dramatic audio tapes and a collectibles broker who testified that he set up the meeting that led to armed robbery charges against the Juice.

The second day of the preliminary hearing to decide if Simpson and two other men should stand trial on 12 criminal charges is set for today. His lawyers are expected to try to undercut the testimony of Tom Riccio, who says he hid a recorder in the hotel room where Simpson is accused of armed robbery.

O.J. Simpson gritted his teeth and laid his gold reading glasses on the defense table as the voicemail he left for Riccio was played in court.

"Hey Tom. It's O.J. What are they talking about a gun? All I wanted was my stuff back again," OJ Simpson says on the 35-second recording.

Simpson refers to hundreds of items taken from memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley on September 13 as his "stolen stuff."

"Nobody had a gun, you know?" OJ Simpson says in the tape. "Ain't nobody had any guns. They're feeling guilty so they're trying to make up something."

Played at the preliminary hearing, these words from OJ contrast markedly to the chaotic bellows, orders and curses heard during a six-minute recording of the confrontation in a room at the Palace Station Hotel that ends with a single voice.

"We were just robbed at gunpoint man," a man says. "We were just robbed at gunpoint by O.J. Simpson!"

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Twelve years after being acquitted on double-murder charges, OJ Simpson is back in court in Nevada on aggravated kidnapping charges and other felonies.

Simpson and several cohorts was arrested and charged with various criminal counts stemming from an alleged robbery in a Las Vegas casino-hotel.

OJ Simpson, 60, Clarence Stewart, 53, and Charles Ehrlich, 53, face charges of kidnapping, robbery, assault, conspiracy and coercion.

Admitted robbery accomplices Charles Cashmore, 40, Walter Alexander, 46, and Michael McClinton, 49, have taken plea bargains and are expected to testify for the prosecution that guns were brandished during the Simpson-led September 13 "sting operation" against two sports memorabilia dealers.

OJ Simpson: New decade, new felonies, new mug shots.

At today's preliminary hearing, Las Vegas Judge Joe M. Bonaventure is due to determine whether there is enough evidence to set the case for a trial.

The jurist should not lack for evidence, given that three of OJ Simpson's alleged co-conspirators have accepted plea bargains to testify against The Juice.

The preliminary hearing is expected to continue into Friday and possibly even Saturday. Simpson's attorneys claim they are prepared to face the challenges ahead and say they understand the perception of Simpson.

At a press conference in September, OJ Simpson's attorney, Yale Galanter, stated, "We know who our client is. We know what you guys think."

Should Bonaventure decide there is enough evidence for trial, it's likely that the new OJ Simpson trial wouldn't begin until 2008.

So far, Simpson is 0-1 vs. the Las Vegas justice system. Tuesday, his legal team argued unsuccessfully that prosecutors are using the media against OJ.

Federal agents knew for weeks that O.J. Simpson and sports a memorabilia dealer planned a sting operation to retrieve personal items that the Juice said were stolen from him, according to FBI reports obtained by The Associated Press.

Dealer Thomas Riccio said he reported to the FBI August 21 that a collector claimed to have belongings of Simpson's, and that O.J. wanted to videotape the confrontation with the person peddling pieces of his memorabilia.

Amazingly, Thomas Riccio told the AP that he raised the subject while talking with the FBI about an unrelated subject: a video of Anna Nicole Smith.

But he said agents dismissed his report, the dealer said, telling him that "they didn't want to be involved in another weird celebrity case."

"The guy flat-out told me he had items stolen from O.J. Simpson's house," Riccio told the AP. "I have a legitimate business."

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said Thomas Riccio did not indicate a crime would be committed. Riccio was advised to contact a lawyer before taking action and was told that alerting the FBI would not absolve him of any crime(s).

Riccio said he was not clear how the O.J. Simpson operation would unfold.

There was no mention in the report of any plans to use guns, a central component of the case now being made against O.J. Simpson and his co-defendants.

"I went along with O.J.'s plan," Riccio said. "It was a self-organized sting operation. Except for the end, with him bringing people with guns. I knew nothing about that."

O.J. Simpson, 60, and five other men were arrested after they allegedly stormed a Las Vegas hotel room with guns September 13 to seize items believed to include family photos and the suit Simpson wore the day he was acquitted of murder.

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The Juice is getting squeezed harder by the day... and orange you glad he may finally be going to prison where he belongs? Sorry, that was lame. But you are, right?

Another co-defendant in the recent kidnapping/robbery case has agreed to plea to lesser charges - in exchange for testimony against O.J. Simpson.

Michael McClinton is now the third person involved in the alleged Las Vegas hotel room holdup involving O.J.'s sports memorabilia.

He told a judge in a Clark County (Nev.) courtroom this morning that he'll accept a deal to plead guilty to robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, and testify against O.J. Simpson and two other men.

McClinton's lawyer, William Terry, said his client can testify that O.J. Simpson wanted guns with him and his gang as they went to the hotel room at the Palace Station casino.

Simpson's attorney, Yale Galanter, said this was not a surprise, although he added the following:

"What this comes down to is the real bad guys are pointing a finger at O.J., and the prosecution giving away the courthouse to try to shore up their case."

Michael McClinton could receive up to 11 years in prison. Man, everybody's rolling over on O.J. And not exactly the way Christie Prody does.

As O.J. Simpson faces a slew of charges (kidnapping and robbing people) from an incident earlier this fall, The Hollywood Gossip takes a look back at the days when he was a mere murderer who tried to cash in on his notoriety.

Although the original release was canceled shortly after it was announced in November 2006, several copies of "If I Did It," Simpson's "fictional" tell-all, managed to make their way online despite orders for all to be destroyed.

In August 2007, a Florida bankruptcy court awarded the rights to the book to the family of murder victim Ronald Goldman to help satisfy the unpaid $33.5 million wrongful death civil judgment against O.J. Simpson.

With proceeds going to the Goldmans, the book title was thus expanded to "If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer" and the cover altered significantly. See below.

Of course, there's this alternate cover Vibe came up with, which seems to sum up the absurdity of it all. Who manages to beat the rap for murder, beat a civil suit with NFL pensions that can't be seized, then tries to rub everybody's face in it?