Some of O.J. Simpson’s closest friends reveal new details about the night that landed him in prison on ABC’s 20/20 tonight — ahead of his upcoming parole hearing.
The episode sees correspondent Deborah Roberts talking to one of the fallen football legend’s accomplices Michael McClinton at the Las Vegas hotel where they carried out an armed robbery against memorabilia dealers.
McClinton, who pulled a gun during the robbery, testified at Simpson’s trial and got probation as part of a plea deal.
The 20/20 special also includes CCTV footage from the lead-up to and aftermath of the robbery, along with audio recordings from the night it took place.
WATCH: Surveillance footage of O.J. Simpson before, after 2007 Vegas incident that led to him serving prison time https://t.co/mZ9sQeEcIy pic.twitter.com/ro4h10DvRd
— 20/20 (@ABC2020) July 14, 2017
Also interviewed are Simpson’s fellow accomplices Clarence ‘CJ’ Stewart, who served time with him, and Walter Alexander, who along with McClinton testified against him.
The 20/20 team also speak to the former footballer’s longtime friend Doc Johnson, his friend Tom Scotto, whose wedding was taking place in Vegas on the weekend the robbery happened, Simpson’s friend and ex-manager Norman Pardo, his attorney from his 2008 trial Yale Galanter and Jeffrey Felix, one of Simpson’s former prison guards.
Simpson has served nearly nine years in prison following the armed robbery at the Palace Station hotel-casino in Las Vegas in September 2007.
It saw him and a string of accomplices break into a room at gunpoint and steal various O.J. Simpson collectibles from dealers Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley.
Simpson was sentenced in December 2008 to 33 years in prison with a minimum of nine years before he would be eligible for parole.
It came more than a decade after he was acquitted in one of the most high-profile trials in history for the double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
Some believed that the long sentence he received for the Las Vegas robbery was retribution for his previous acquittal, although this was denied by the judge.
Simpson’s parole hearing takes place on July 20. The man who prosecuted him and put him behind bars, retired Clark County DA David Roger, says he believes Simpson will get parole.
20/20 airs Fridays at 10pm ET on ABC.