Laborer accepts plea deal

A Las Vegas laborer has become the first defendant in the O.J. Simpson robbery case to accept a plea bargain.

Charles Cashmore, 40, is scheduled to appear Monday morning in Las Vegas Justice Court to waive his right to a preliminary hearing. Defense attorney Edward Miley said prosecutors offered his client the chance to plead guilty to a single, low-level felony in exchange for his testimony in the case.

"I think they looked and realized he probably had the least amount of culpability," the lawyer said Friday.

Miley said a date will be set for Cashmore to plead guilty in District Court to accessory to robbery, a charge that carries a sentence range of one to five years. The defendant also could receive probation, a penalty Miley plans to request.

"The state has agreed not to make any recommendation at sentencing," Miley said.

District Attorney David Roger could not be reached Friday, and a spokesman for the Clark County district attorney's office declined to comment.

Miley said his client accepted the deal to avoid the possibility of a jury convicting him of more serious charges, such as robbery with a deadly weapon or kidnapping with a deadly weapon. Convictions on those charges could have kept Cashmore in prison for life, the lawyer said.

As part of the plea agreement, Cashmore has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and provide truthful testimony in the case.

"Once he takes a deal, he no longer has his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination," Miley said.

The lawyer said Cashmore's only prior conviction was for a misdemeanor that occurred about 10 years ago in Utah.

In the robbery case, Cashmore was accused of storming a Palace Station hotel room Sept. 13 with Simpson, Walter Alexander, Clarence Stewart, Michael McClinton and Charles Ehrlich. Miley said Cashmore had met Simpson about 30 minutes earlier and "thought he was going to help O.J. move some stuff."

"He didn't think anything was unusual until people started yelling and a gun came out," the lawyer said.

Las Vegas police said the men held two sports memorabilia collectors at gunpoint while Simpson's crew carted off memorabilia. Simpson has argued that some of the memorabilia belonged to him.

Miley said Cashmore stayed in a corner during the incident but helped carry items out of the room. Video surveillance from Palace Station showed Cashmore with his arms full of unidentified items.

"He's an accessory after the fact, essentially," Miley said.

Police said Cashmore later surrendered and handed over some lithographs and other memorabilia.

Miley said his client will testify that he saw two guns -- one that was pointed during the incident and one that was on display in a man's belt.

"I don't think he ever saw O.J. with a gun," Miley said.

He said Cashmore met all his co-defendants shortly before entering the hotel room but can identify them.

Miley said he thinks prosecutors hope Cashmore's plea bargain will put "more pressure on the people who know more."

A preliminary hearing for other defendants in the case is scheduled for Nov. 8 in Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure Jr.'s courtroom. Miley said prosecutors have indicated they will not object to Cashmore's release from house arrest when the defendant appears before Bonaventure on Monday.

Miley said Cashmore, a union member, is single and has no children. The man's relatives live out of state.

"I think he feels badly for his family and the way he's been portrayed," Miley said.

Simpson's local attorney, Gabriel Grasso, was out of town and could not be reached for comment late Friday.

Simpson stood trial before a California jury in 1995 in the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. The former football great was acquitted of murder, but a civil jury later found him liable for the deaths and awarded more than $30 million to the victims' families. Simpson, 60, now lives in Florida.

"I think that my guy wishes he had probably never met O.J., to be honest," Miley said.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0264.