Two Alleged O.J. Accomplices tell more

by Natalie FinnMon, 15 Oct 2007 01:33:08 PM PDT

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.

T.I is now appearing in Jail

by Gina SerpeMon, 15 Oct 2007 01:15:35 PM PDT

The King of the South has been temporarily dethroned...though that may be the least of his worries.
T.I. remains jailed after being arrested on several weapons-related charges Saturday, just hours before he was set to take the stage and, ultimately, win two pieces of hardware at the BET Hip-Hop Awards.
The 27-year-old rapper, whose real name is Clifford Harris, briefly appeared Monday in court, where prosecutors expressed a desire to keep him in custody on the weapons charges indefinitely while the case proceeds. But his attorneys, who claim T.I. is an innocent victim of the government's rush to justice, will argue for his release at a bond hearing scheduled to take place this Friday.
The double Grammy winner was busted in the parking lot of a shopping center not far from the awards show's Atlanta venue, collared by agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after picking up three machine guns, two silencers and a pistol from an undercover ATF officer, which, per the feds, his bodyguard had purchased on his behalf.
T.I. was previously convicted on drug violations back in 1998 and given seven years' probation, and he later was busted on gun-related charges. It's a federal offense for a convicted felon to have someone purchase firearms on their behalf.
"The last place machine guns should be is in the hands of a convicted felon, who cannot legally possess any kind of firearm," said David E. Nahmias, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. "This convicted felon allegedly was trying to add several machine guns to an already large and entirely illegal arsenal of guns.
"Thanks to the good and quick work of ATF, he is now in custody, and his firearms have been seized."
The Atlanta native, who was up for a leading nine awards from the hip-hop ceremony Saturday, was arrested as the result of a nearly two-week undercover operation that began on Oct. 2, when ATF agents learned an individual later identified as the rapper's bodyguard was seeking to buy guns without registering them.
Last Wednesday, the bodyguard was arrested after picking up $12,000 from a bank and attempting to fork it over for three machine guns, two silencers and a pistol, the same arsenal T.I. was attempting to pick up on Saturday afternoon. After getting caught, the bodyguard agreed to cooperate with authorities in their sting.
The bodyguard phoned T.I., a conversation that ATF officials recorded, and arranged for the rapper to pick up the guns himself over the weekend. He was arrested in the shopping center's parking lot without incident.
Following the arrest, ATF agents searched T.I.'s nearby College Park home and allegedly discovered six additional firearms, five of them loaded, in a bedroom closet. Three more guns, one of which was loaded, were found in the vehicle the rapper was driving that day. It's unclear if any of those guns had been registered.
Prosectuors say the chart-topping T.I. vs. T.I.P. rapper "now faces serious federal charges and a potentially long prison sentence.
But one of his legal crew says authorities were too quick to point the finger at his client.
Attorney Dwight Thomas said "a number of people" live in the home ATF searched on Saturday and that there were "two sides to every story—sometimes three."
The main story at the BETs, however, was the notable absence of the rapper, whose presence, in spirit, was nonetheless acknowledged.
Common, who wound up sharing the CD of the Year award with his beleaguered colleague, offered some support in his acceptance speech.
"I salute my guy T.I., who also won, wherever he is," Common said from the podium.
Wyclef Jean, who was due to perform alongside T.I. on the rapper's hit "You Know What It Is," instead went solo...almost. Doing his best to fill in and earn a few laughs, host Katt Williams got all dolled up in his most believable T.I. gear and took to the stage during the song, attempting to impersonate the MIA rapper.
The chart-topping rapper's absence was also felt during another would-be performance, this time with Alfamega and Busta Rhymes for "Hurt," in which T.I. would have joined them.
But the rapper's absence wasn't the only anomaly of the evening.
The poster child of healthy egos, Kanye West, was on hand to collect the evening's award for Best Hip-Hop Video, only to become momentarily humbled by the honor.
"I didn't deserve this award above them," he said, referring to UGK featuring OutKast's "International Players," one of the category's fellow nominees. West then handed the trophy over to OutKast's Big Boi, who quickly gave it back.
"You worked too hard for this," he told West. "No, you deserve it."
West, Common and T.I. each took home a leading two awards from the show.
An edited version of the ceremony will air this Wednesday on BET.