LAS VEGAS - Former football star O.J. Simpson has been sentenced to at least 15 years in prison for a botched attempt to recover sports mementos and personal items from two collectibles peddlers.
He will be eligibile for parole in six years.
"You can't take back your own property by force," said Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass. "This is not behavior we can say this is OK, don't worry."
"You went to the room, you took guns, you used force, you took property, whether it was yours or someone else's, and in this state that amounts to armed robbery," Glass said.
Minutes before his sentence, Simpson apologized to the judge and said he didn’t mean to steal from anybody when he tried to retrieve memorabilia.
Simpson made his statement in a soft voice that was somewhat hoarse.
He appeared ready to break down in tears as he told Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass that he was “sorry and confused” before going into a rambling, 5-minute declaration.
"I didn’t want to steal anything from anyone ... I’m sorry, sorry," he said.
Glass also ruled before sentencing that Simpson cannot be freed on bail pending possible appeal.
In earlier proceedings, neither Simpson, who was acquitted of the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles, nor his co-defendant and former golfing buddy, Clarence "C.J. Stewart, testified at trial. They were convicted Oct. 3 of 12 criminal charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery.
Jurors who heard 13 days of testimony said after the verdict that they were convinced of Simpson's guilt because of audio recordings middleman Thomas Riccio secretly made of the Sept. 13, 2007, Palace Station casino hotel confrontation with sports memorabilia brokers Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong.
"Don't let nobody out of this room!" Simpson commands on the recordings, and instructs other men to scoop up items he insists had been stolen from him.
On Tuesday, Glass is scheduled to sentence four former co-defendants who took plea deals and testified against Simpson and Stewart. Michael McClinton, Charles Cashmore, Walter Alexander and Charles Ehrlich could receive probation or prison time. McClinton could get up to 11 years; the others face less.
He will be eligibile for parole in six years.
"You can't take back your own property by force," said Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass. "This is not behavior we can say this is OK, don't worry."
"You went to the room, you took guns, you used force, you took property, whether it was yours or someone else's, and in this state that amounts to armed robbery," Glass said.
Minutes before his sentence, Simpson apologized to the judge and said he didn’t mean to steal from anybody when he tried to retrieve memorabilia.
Simpson made his statement in a soft voice that was somewhat hoarse.
He appeared ready to break down in tears as he told Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass that he was “sorry and confused” before going into a rambling, 5-minute declaration.
"I didn’t want to steal anything from anyone ... I’m sorry, sorry," he said.
Glass also ruled before sentencing that Simpson cannot be freed on bail pending possible appeal.
In earlier proceedings, neither Simpson, who was acquitted of the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles, nor his co-defendant and former golfing buddy, Clarence "C.J. Stewart, testified at trial. They were convicted Oct. 3 of 12 criminal charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery.
Jurors who heard 13 days of testimony said after the verdict that they were convinced of Simpson's guilt because of audio recordings middleman Thomas Riccio secretly made of the Sept. 13, 2007, Palace Station casino hotel confrontation with sports memorabilia brokers Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong.
"Don't let nobody out of this room!" Simpson commands on the recordings, and instructs other men to scoop up items he insists had been stolen from him.
On Tuesday, Glass is scheduled to sentence four former co-defendants who took plea deals and testified against Simpson and Stewart. Michael McClinton, Charles Cashmore, Walter Alexander and Charles Ehrlich could receive probation or prison time. McClinton could get up to 11 years; the others face less.