O.J. Released on $125,000 Bail

Sept. 19, 2007 — -- O.J. Simpson was released from a Las Vegas jail Wednesday afternoon on $125,000 bail, with a line of reporters behind him and news helicopters circling above.

A judge set bail Wednesday morning for Simpson, who had been held in the Clark County Detention Center since his arrest on Sunday in connection with his alleged role in the armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers in a casino hotel room.

Also on Wednesday, one of the memorabilia dealers, who is expected to be a key witness in the case, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service at the Luxor Hotel.

Alfred Beardsley was wanted on a California warrant for a parole violation, the Marshals' Service said. He was being held at the Las Vegas jail pending his extradition to California.

In front of a packed courtroom Wednesday morning, Judge Joe M. Bonaventure ordered Simpson to surrender his passport to his attorney and to avoid contact with the accusers and witnesses in the case. Simpson's attorneys and the Las Vegas district attorney said they had agreed on the terms and amount of Simpson's bail before the hearing.

In a scene reminiscent of Simpson's storied Los Angeles criminal trial almost 15 years ago, Simpson walked into the Las Vegas courtroom, handcuffed, in a blue prison uniform surrounded by guards. Seated behind him in the courtroom were his daughter Arnell Simpson, his girlfriend of seven years, Christie Prody, his sister and brother-in-law, the prosecutor in his 1995 trial Marcia Clark and a slew of reporters, many of whom were witnesses to the spectacle of his 1995 trial.

Asked whether he understood the terms of his bail, Simpson said, "yes, sir" in a quiet, scratchy voice. He didn't enter a plea or speak to the courtroom audience. His lawyer later said Simpson would enter a plea of not guilty, and that his client planned to return to his home in Miami shortly.

After the hearing, Simpson's attorneys left the courthouse to meet a teeming throng of reporters and photographers.

"We expect Mr. Simpson to be processed and released fairly quickly," one of Simpson's attorneys, Yale Galanter, said at a news conference. "He's relieved. This has been a very harrowing experience for him."

"He just wants to get home and be with his family," said Galanter, who called the bail "extremely reasonable."

According to the manager of Las Vegas bail bond company "You Ring, We Spring," which posted bond for Simpson, the company received calls from a number of people, "some strangers and some friends," wanting to assist in posting Simpson's bail.

"They wanted to donate to an O.J. (bail) fund," manager Bill Fineout told ABC News.

Simpson and three other men face 11 charges, including kidnapping and robbery with a deadly weapon, that could send the former football star to prison for the rest of his life. Two sports memorabilia dealers have accused Simpson and several of his associates of robbing them at gunpoint inside their hotel room at the Palace Station Casino in Las Vegas.