Alleged Victim: I Was Shocked To See O.J.
Bruce Fromong, one of the alleged victims of the O.J. Simpson memorabilia robbery, says he has known Simpson for a long time and was stunned to see the former football great come through the door of his hotel room.
"When he came in with the first two men, the second man already had his weapon drawn, which was a bit scary," Fromong told The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen. "O.J. was the last person ... through the door. When he came through, you could see him. He stopped for a second. He wasn't expecting to see me there. I've known O.J. for a long time. He definitely wasn't expecting me and I definitely wasn't expecting O.J."
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, police said. The district attorney said he expected Simpson to ultimately be charged with seven felonies and one gross misdemeanor. If convicted of the booking charges, Simpson would face up to 30 years in state prison on each robbery count alone. A court date was set for Thursday.
An audio recording of the alleged robbery released by TMZ.com identifies an agitated Simpson uttering obscenities to an unknown person. "You think you can steal my (expletive) and sell it?" says the voice identified as Simpson.
Simpson, 60, was in Vegas to attend a friend's wedding. Now he'll be attending his own arraignment via video, reports CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor.
Police arrested Simpson on Sunday, saying he was part of an armed group that burst into a Las Vegas hotel room and snatched memorabilia that documented his storied career. He is being held the Clark County Convention Center in Las Vegas without bail.Photos: O.J. Busted In Vegas
Simpson said it was merely a confrontation with no guns. He said autographed sports collectibles, his Hall of Fame certificate, a photograph with former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and video from his first wedding were all his, and that they were stolen from him and were about to be fenced by unethical collectors.
Sports memorabilia collectors say Simpson and others stormed into their room at the palace station hotel and casino Thursday, threatened them with weapons, and stole from them. Simpson claims he was retrieving collectibles that were first stolen from him, and that the raid was part of a sting operation.
"I don't know if the word was mad. O.J. was extremely upset. He had no idea what might be there, what wasn't," Fromong said. "He was expecting to find other stuff than what was actually there, I believe."
Simpson called Fromong on Saturday, in a tape obtained exclusively by CBS News and appeared to backpedal.
"Any event some of a few of your things were mixed up in my stuff," Simpson said on the tape. "I told you asked me to give it back to you, so how do I get it back to you? So let me know where to -- where you want to meet up to get it because, you know I don't want none of your stuff, only my stuff."
Police said they were not sure who owned the memorabilia. But they say the manner in which the goods were taken was under investigation.
"Whether or not the property belonged to Mr. Simpson or not is still in debate," Lt. Clint Nichols said Sunday. "Having said that, the manner in which this property was taken, we have a responsibility to look into that, irregardless of who the property belonged to."
Simpson owes the Goldman and Brown families $33 million for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman in 1994. Now there is a question that some of the memorabilia that Simpson was trying to get back may actually belong to them and Simpson was hiding it from them.
"It was stuff taken out of the house the day of the raid of the house, when they were coming to take everything," Fromong said. "There was an anonymous tip the police were going to be raiding the house that morning and there were several people there at the house. O.J. basically had told them, from what I've been told from the account, because I wasn't there at the time, but my ex-business partner was. He (Simpson) said, 'Get everything out of here. Put it wherever you can, put this stuff away. take whatever you can and hide it.' "
Fromong said Simpson's Heisman trophy sold for $300,000 alone. The collection also included old shoes and jerseys Simpson wore from his playing days.
Before the incident, Fromong said he was looking into helping Simpson set up some off-shore accounts in the Caymans and visited realtors to check on property. They never followed through, he said.
Although he doesn't want to, Fromong said he will testify against Simpson. Simpson attorney Yale Galanter told The Associated Press late Sunday that he would fight the charges vigorously.
"We believe it is an extremely defensible case based on conflicting witness statements, flip-flopping by witnesses and witnesses making deals with the government to flip," Galanter said.
Simpson was taken away from The Palms hotel-casino by plainclothes officers around 11 a.m. Sunday, a day after the arrest of a golfing buddy who police say accompanied him with a gun in the Thursday night holdup. Handcuffed and wearing a golf shirt and jeans, Simpson was placed in an SUV.
"He was very cooperative, there were no issues," Capt. James Dillon said.
Simpson told The Associated Press that he did not call the police to help reclaim the items because he has found the police unresponsive to him ever since his ex-wife and Goldman, were slain.
"The police, since my trouble, have not worked out for me," he said, noting that whenever he has called the police "It just becomes a story about O.J."
Police did not allege that Simpson carried a weapon in the incident.
"We don't have any information to lead us to believe he was armed even based on those charges," Nichols said.
Police said they seized two firearms involved in the robbery along with sports memorabilia, mostly signed by Simpson. They also said they recovered collectible baseballs and Joe Montana cleats at private residences early Sunday after serving three search warrants.
Walter Alexander, 46, of Mesa, Ariz., was arrested Saturday night 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, who was described as one of Simpson's golfing buddies, was released without bail Saturday night.
"Walter was one of the two subjects who had a gun," Dillon said.
Robert Dennis Rentzer, a Los Angeles lawyer representing Alexander, said he was able to arrange his client's release from custody, but wasn't familiar with the allegations.
Police are seeking four other men: Las Vegas residents Clarence Stewart, 53, and Michael McClinton, 49; Tom Scotto, of unknown age and hometown, and another man who was not identified.