OJ Simpson granted bail
Wednesday, 19 Sep 2007 19:51
The former American football star was acquitted in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife and her friend
Former American football star OJ Simpson has been bailed after being charged over an alleged robbery at a hotel in Las Vegas.
The court set the bail at $125,000 (£63,000) and banned the 60-year-old athlete-turned-actor from leaving the US or contacting potential witnesses.
Wearing a blue prison uniform and handcuffs, Simpson quietly told the sitting judge that he understood the charges being levelled against him. He did not enter a plea.
Outside court his lawyer indicated that Simpson would now return to his Florida home until his bail term expires on October 22nd.
Simpson and three co-defendants were arrested on Sunday for allegedly breaking into the room of a sports memorabilia dealer at the Palace Station Casino, supposedly to reclaim goods the ex-professional sportsman claims had been stolen from him.
The charges brought by prosecutors against Simpson and his co-defendants are conspiracy to commit a kidnapping, kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon, burglary with use of a deadly weapon, robbery with use of a deadly weapon, assault with use of a deadly weapon and coercion with use of a deadly weapon.
Police officials have said that the maximum sentence for only one of the charges against the star - robbery with a deadly weapon - could see him serve a maximum sentence of up to 35 years.
The controversial celebrity was cleared in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in a case which raised questions about the justice system in the United States.
He was later convicted in a civil trial which held him liable for the deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million (£17 million) in damages to the families of the pair, although this money has not been paid.
Simpson recently released a book If I Did It, in which he considers how he may have killed his former wife and her friend Ronald Goldman.