October 05, 2008	Sunday	Shawwal 05, 1429

LAS VEGAS, Oct 4: O.J. Simpson was found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping here on Friday, 13 years to the day after the American football legend was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend.

After a three-week trial, a Las Vegas jury deliberated for more than 13 hours on Friday on 12 charges against Simpson and a friend arising from an incident at the Palace Station casino in September last year.

Simpson showed no emotion as he and co-defendant Clarence Stewart were found guilty on all counts, verdicts which could see both men jailed for life.

Judge Jackie Glass denied a request for Simpson to be released on bail and he was led away in handcuffs. He will be sentenced on December 5.

Paramedics were called as Simpson’s sister Carmelita fainted shortly after watching her brother led away to a cell.

Simpson, 61, was accused of storming into a hotel room with a gang of gun-toting cohorts and seizing sports memorabilia from two dealers worth thousands of dollars.

Simpson, who did not testify during his trial, said in interviews after his arrest he had only been recovering personal items stolen from his trophy room, and said he was unaware that his cohorts were armed with weapons.

However, four of Simpson’s accomplices on the heist struck plea deals and testified against the sports star during his trial, which played out in low-key contrast to his circus-like 1995 “Trial of the Century.”

Defence lawyers argued detectives had rushed to judgment from the early stages of the case, and said prosecution witnesses, including the victims, could not be trusted because they had sold their stories to the media.—AFP