KEY POINTS:
Two defendants in the OJ Simpson robbery case have pleaded guilty in Las Vegas to reduced charges as part of a deal to testify against the former football star and others in the theft of sports memorabilia.
Walter Alexander, 46, and Charles Cashmore, 40, each pleaded guilty to one robbery charge and in exchange other charges were dropped, according to a spokesman for the Clark County District Attorney's office in Las Vegas.
Spokesman Michael Sommermeir said the two men have agreed to testify against Simpson in the September break-in at a Las Vegas hotel room in which the former NFL star running back is accused of stealing items he claims once belonged to him.
"I'm at peace with what I've done today and what I'm going to do," Alexander said outside a Las Vegas courthouse, according to several news reports.
Simpson, 60, who was acquitted in the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on November 8 on the robbery charges. His co-defendants now include three other men.
In mid-September, Simpson was arrested and held in jail for several days after the robbery in which he and his accomplices were accused of brandishing weapons while breaking into a hotel room and robbing two sports memorabilia collectors.
At the time, Simpson told reporters he had done nothing wrong and was simply trying to retrieve personal photos, a Hall of Fame certificate and other items he said were stolen from him by a former sports agent.
But officials later charged him with kidnapping with a deadly weapon, robbery with a deadly weapon and assault and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, robbery and burglary, among other crimes. If convicted, Simpson could spend life in jail.
Alexander pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, and Clark County District Attorney David Roger said he would seek a suspended sentence for the real estate salesman from Mesa, Arizona. Alexander is expected to get probation instead of jail time.
Las Vegas resident Cashmore, who his lawyer described as bit player in the break-in, pleaded guilty to accessory to a robbery. He was released from house arrest and also will likely get probation.
Charges that were dropped against both men had included kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. A status hearing for both is set for April 15.
Reuters
