OJ Simpson yesterday pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and armed-robbery charges, setting the stage for a sensational Las Vegas trial that could send him to prison for life.
The disgraced grid great, accused of ripping off two memorabilia dealers during a military-style raid two months ago, was ordered to stand trial on April 7 by Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass. Court officials originally had said the trial wouldn’t take place until fall 2008, but Glass – a TV-newswoman-turned-judge – called for the springtime trial after balancing the schedules of lawyers and her court calendar.
A lower-court judge held Simpson to answer charges earlier this month after a colorful week of preliminary-hearing testimony from OJ’s pals – characterized by one defense lawyer as “crackheads and groupies and pimps and purveyors of stolen merchandise and gun carriers and con artists and crooks.”
Prosecutor Chris Owens was unapologetic about DA witnesses who have flipped on Simpson, saying it was the Juice himself who assembled the motley crew.
Simpson, 60 – who was infamously acquitted of double murder in 1995 – pleaded not guilty yesterday along with co-defendants Clarence “CJ” Stewart and Charles “Charlie” Ehrlich.