Third Arrest In O.J. Simpson Case

As Ex-Football Great's Attorney Goes On The Offense, Angling For Release Without Bail

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LAS VEGAS, Sept. 17, 2007

(CBS/AP)  Authorities say a third man suspected of barging into a hotel room with O.J. Simpson to steal sports memorabilia has been arrested.

Las Vegas police Lt. Clint Nichols says Clarence Stewart surrendered Monday at his lawyer's office.

CBS News correspondent Steve Futterman reports Stewart, 53, is said to be a golfing buddy of Simpson's.

Police say Stewart lived at one of the residences that police searched early Sunday to recover sports memorabilia taken in the alleged Thursday night heist. According to Nichols, Stewart turned over some of the missing goods, including footballs bearing autographs.

Stewart is being held on six felony charges: two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, burglary with a deadly weapon and conspiracy.

Simpson is being held at the Clark County Convention Center in Las Vegas without bail pending a Wednesday arraignment and hearing revisiting the question of what charges he ultimately will face and the issue of whether he can be released from jail while fighting those charges.

Simpson claims he was retrieving collectibles that were first stolen from him, and that the raid was part of a sting operation.

The first suspect to be arrested, Walter Alexander, 46, of Mesa, Ariz., was taken into custody on Saturday 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. Alexander, described as being one of Simpson's golfing buddies, was released Saturday night - without bail.

Las Vegas police Capt. James Dillon says Alexander was one of two men involved in the incident who had a gun.

Dillon says two other suspects are in the process of hiring attorneys and preparing to surrender to police.

Sports memorabilia collectors say Simpson and others stormed into their room at the Palace Station hotel and casino in Las Vegas Thursday, threatened them with weapons, and stole from them.

Police say Simpson was booked at the county jail Sunday night on two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and conspiracy to commit a crime and burglary with a firearm.

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Photos: O.J. Busted In Vegas

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The district attorney says he expects Simpson to be charged with seven felonies - including robbery charges carrying sentences of as much as 30 years per count - and one gross misdemeanor.

"If there's a conviction," says CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen, Simpson could be looking at serious time behind bars. ""Whenever you're dealing with armed burglary, you're dealing with a very serious felony that has a very long prison sentence attached to it."

Police said they are giving Simpson no special treatment - other than keeping him separated from the rest of the general prison population for his own protection.

A lawyer for Simpson, meanwhile, has gone on the offense.

Defense attorney Yale Galanter says prosecutors lack the evidence to prove that the former football star committed armed robbery and other felonies.

"We are definitely on the attack," says Galanter, a Miami attorney who flew to Las Vegas to appear on Simpson's behalf.

Galanter plans to seek Simpson's release on his own recognizance. Simpson, says Galanter, had offered to surrender even if he had to return from his home in Miami, but police instead chose to arrest him.

"If it was anyone but O.J. Simpson, he would have been released by now," says Galanter, who maintains that witness statements will clear Simpson.

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