O.J. Simpson Named Suspect In Vegas Robbery

O.J. Simpson said he doesn't understand why he is under investigation in an alleged armed robbery at a casino hotel room involving his sports memorabilia. The former football star told The Associated Press yesterday that he went to the room to recover items stolen from him and that, despite reports, no guns were involved. "There was no armed robbery here," Simpson said in a telephone interview. "It wasn't a robbery. They said `Take your stuff and go.'" The incident at the Palace Station casino has once again focused attention on Simpson, who was acquitted of murdering ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman more than a decade ago. He was later found civilly liable for their deaths and ordered to pay a $33.5 million judgment.

On Thursday night, officers responded to a call made by Alfred Beardsley, one of the men in the hotel room and a longtime collector of Simpson memorabilia. Police Capt. James Dillon said the caller told police that O.J. Simpson was involved in the robbery. "We have (reports) from the victim that there were weapons involved," Police Capt. Dillon said, but added that no firearms had been recovered, no charges had been filed and no one was in custody. Simpson wouldn't give authorities the names of the "three or four" men who accompanied him into the hotel room until his lawyer was present. Authorities are sorting out who owned the disputed items and had some "legitimate information that part or all of the items" belong to Simpson, Police Capt. Dillon said.

Simpson said he and Beardsley had a friendly phone conversation later Friday and they wanted to resolve the matter. Both indicated the underlying issue was recovery of photos from Simpson's childhood. "Nobody was roughed up," Simpson said in the interview. "What I can't understand is these guys are in a room trying to fence stolen goods and I'm the story." Simpson said he was conducting a sting operation on Thursday to collect his belongings when he was led to the room.

My response: White folks are just chomping at the bit to get at O.J., because he was acquitted in the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman about 14 years ago. Last night on the FOX News Channel, analysts claimed the guys in question were "gangbangers" and there was 'screaming" in the room...which I have not seen in news reports. It was not mentioned that Nevada is a right-to-carry state, so it is hardly unusual to see folks toting guns there. The question is whether those weapons were drawn. On "Hannity & Colmes", they kept emphasizing the 1994 murders and hoping that O.J. Simpson gets time for this alleged armed robbery. Never mind that those murders - which for, right or wrong, he was acquitted - have nothing and should have nothing to do with the charges that he is facing now. I'm not even an O.J. Simpson fan - he has an obsession with white women and I believe that he committed those murders in 1994 - but I'm seeing foulness here.