Turns out two of O.J. Simpson's Las Vegas acquaintances aren't gambling men.
Simpson golfing buddy Walter Alexander and Charles Cashmore, a part-time disc jockey, appeared in a Sin City courtroom Monday to tell the judge they would accept plea deals and turn state's evidence against the former football star and his alleged accomplices.
Alexander and Cashmore are accused of being part of the four-man posse that accompanied Simpson to the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Vegas on Sept. 13 to put the squeeze on memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley.
Standing before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure Jr., Alexander, 46, announced he would plead guilty to a felony count of conspiracy to commit robbery.
But his plea bargain marks a 180 since the days immediately following the arrest, when Alexander told Good Morning America Simpson believed the memorabilia to be his and the Naked Gun actor might have been duped into the purported holdup.
"It sounds like a setup to me," Alexander said at the time. "I just happened to get caught up in a bad situation."
Meanwhile, as his lawyer signaled on Friday, Cashmore, a 40-year-old Vegas resident with a prior record, said he would plead guilty to being an accessory to robbery, a felony.
"He can establish who was in the room, what was said, who had guns, who didn't have guns, potentially who may have seen guns, who didn't see guns," Cashmore's lawyer Edward Miley said outside court. "I think he wishes he would have never met O.J."
While Alexander's attorney didn't specify the nature of his client's testimony, Miley said that what the Mesa, Arizona, man had to say could clarify Simpson's role in the incident.
"What Mr. Alexander, I'm assuming, will be able to say is who told them to bring firearms, what planning there was, and what was said and done after the fact," Miley said.
Simpson and his lawyers have denied guns were in the room. His lawyers have not commented on Monday's turn of events.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Cashmore apologized to his friends and family and said he was doing the right thing by turning on Simpson. Alexander and Cashmore both waived their preliminary hearings and are due back in court Oct. 23.
Alexander faces up to six years in prison, while Cashmore is looking at a maximum of five—still, that's a far cry from the possible life-in-lockup punishment that comes with the nine felonies and one gross misdemeanor all the codefendants were originally facing, counts that include armed robbery, kidnapping, burglary, assault with a weapon and conspiracy.
Still sitting in Simpson's boat are Mike McClinton, Charles Erlich and Clarence Stewart, the last of whom has pleaded not guilty on all counts. Reputed ringleader Simpson is also facing an additional felony charge.
A preliminary hearing has been set in Clark County Justice Court for Nov. 8-9, at which point prosecutors will present evidence against Simpson and cohorts and Bonaventure will decide whether the case will proceed to trial.
Miley said that Cashmore "was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," and met Simpson and the others for the first time just minutes before the purported shakedown.
The attorney also said that Cashmore will name Alexander and McClinton as the guys who were packing heat.
Simpson, who's scheduled to be arraigned later this month, has maintained he was only in that hotel room to take back collectibles that had been stolen from him by a former agent after his 1995 murder trial. No guns were involved, his lawyers have said.
Alexander's lawyer said Monday that he doubted Cashmore could prove his client was armed. There was no immediate comment from McClinton's attorney.
When he surrendered to police, Cashmore handed over some of the items taken from Fromong and Beardsley. Cashmore's cache included a number of autographed footballs and baseballs, but none of the more high-profile stuff, such as the suit he was wearing the day he was acquitted of murder, that Simpson was reportedly looking for.
Cashmore was sentenced to probation in 1996 for his role in a check embezzlement scheme.
Alexander, meanwhile, was arrested in Los Angeles in 1987 for kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon, but the charges were dismissed.
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