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O.J. Simpson in trouble again: Bail revoked

By Stone Martindale Jan 12, 2008, 17:58 GMT

Ex Sport hero and ageing trainwreck O.J. Simpson will be brought before a judge next week on allegations he violated terms of bail in armed robbery case. former American football star O.J. Simpson EPA/CRAIG MORAN/LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL EDITORIAL USE ONLY

former American football star O.J. Simpson EPA/CRAIG MORAN/LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL EDITORIAL USE ONLYSimpson will be brought before a judge next week on allegations he violated terms of bail in armed robbery case.Simpson tried to contact a co-defendant in the Las Vegas armed robbery case, prosecutors said. This landed him right back in hail.Simpson was taken into custody Friday by his bail bondsman in Miami for allegedly violating the terms of his release.The pair then flew to Las Vegas, where police took Simpson in handcuffs from the airport to the Clark County Detention Center.Police said Simpson, 60, would be kept apart from the other 3,300 inmates until a hearing Wednesday, when District Attorney David Roger plans to ask a judge to revoke Simpson's $125,000 bail and keep him in jail until the trial starts in April.Prosecutors described in court papers how Simpson flagrantly violated his bail terms by reaching out to accused accomplice Clarence (C.J.) Stewart.In a secretly recorded voicemail message, O.J. railed as he urged the bondsman, Miguel Pereira to get a message to Stewart."Hey Miguel, it's me - I just want C.J. to know that the whole thing all the time he was tellin' me that [stuff], ya know, I hope he was telling me the truth," Simpson supposedly said."Don't be tryin' to change the [expletives] now . . . but I'm tired of this . . . fed up with [expletive] changing what they told me. All right?"Prosecutors claim that Simpson's goal was to dissuade Stewart from "testifying and cooperating with law enforcement" as some suspects in the case have.Simpson refused to comment on the charges before he boarded a westbound plane."I can't talk to you guys. I cannot talk to you guys," he said.Simpson is charged with robbery and kidnapping in connection with the Sept. 13 gunpoint raid on two sports memorabilia dealers at a casino hotel. He has pleaded not guilty.After he posted bond, he promised a judge he would have no contact with his co-defendants or witnesses - even through a third party or a "carrier pigeon."Two days after a preliminary hearing - which ended with a judge ruling that he should stand trial - Simpson violated the court order, authorities said.It was unclear if Pereira, who runs You Ring We Spring Bail Bonds, played any role in tipping off investigators to the call.Pereira chauffeured Simpson and his relatives to court dates - and said he was confident the athlete wouldn't skip out."He's not a flight risk. I have a gut feeling and I'm good at my job," Pereira told reporters after O.J.'s release in September.