O. J. SIMPSON

A Recording, a Suspect and a Debt Overdue

It was bad news all around for O.J. Simpson on October 23, 2007 when his former golfing buddy Walter Alexander, 46, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and accepted a plea deal to testify for the prosecution against him in exchange for a reduced sentence in the armed robbery case. Alexander's testimony is expected to severely damage Simpson's case when he plans to tell jurors that his former NFL star friend asked him and the five other men involved in the case to "just bring some firearms" not to use but "to look tough" so that sports memorabilia collectors Beardsley and Fromong would know they were there "for business," Alexander was quoted by the Associated Press as saying in a taped statement. Alexander previously "admitted he carried a .22-caliber handgun in his waistband and said co-defendant Michael McClinton carried an even bigger pistol and pulled it out during the confrontation" that occurred on September 13, 2007, Nancy Dillon reported for the New York Daily News.

Walter Alexander

Forty-year old restaurant worker and co-defendant Charles Cashmore also accepted a plea deal in exchange for a reduced sentence. Like Alexander, he pleaded guilty to accessory to robbery and agreed to testify on behalf of the prosecution against Simpson, contradicting the former NFL star's earlier statements to police that no guns were used during the September 13^th confrontation. Cashmore's attorney said that his client had "no knowledge" that there would be a robbery on the day in question and that Cashmore cowered in fear in the corner by the hotel room's bathroom door during the incident when guns were brandished, Harriet Ryan reported for Court TV.

Charles Cashmore

Cashmore faces a one to five years sentence in prison, whereas Alexander faces a one to six-year stint behind bars. There is a chance that if the men testify to the truth during the upcoming trial they may receive a sentence of probation instead of prison time. The other charges against Cashmore and Alexander had been dropped after their plea deal, including that for kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Reuters reported that "a status hearing for both is set for April 15." Simpson's preliminary hearing has been scheduled for November 8, 2007.