Co-defendant: O.J. wanted guns

O.J. Simpson wanted guns in the room when he led a group of men to confront two sports memorabilia dealers, according to one of the men, who has agreed to testify for the prosecution in the armed robbery case.

Walter Alexander told police after he was arrested Sept. 15 that Simpson wanted the men to be armed when they stormed into a Palace Station hotel room to retrieve sports collectibles that Simpson said belonged to him.

"O.J. said, 'Hey, just bring some firearms,' " Alexander told police, according to a transcript of his tape-recorded statement obtained by The Associated Press.

"He said ... 'We won't have to use 'em, but ... just to look tough, you know, so that these people know that, you know, we're here for business,' " Alexander said.

Simpson attorney Yale Galanter said his client's position remained that no guns were taken to the room and that he did not tell anyone to bring guns.

"There was no reason for Mr. Simpson to tell anyone to bring guns. He was going to see people he knew," Galanter said, adding that Alexander's statement was untrustworthy because "he was negotiating for a get-out-of-jail-free card."

Galanter said a tape-recording made in the room by Thomas Riccio, the man who had arranged the meeting, showed there were no guns involved.

"Nobody reacts to a gun. Nobody says, 'Put that gun away,' " Galanter said.

Alexander, 46, told police that he had carried a .22-caliber handgun in his waistband and that Michael McClinton, who gave him that gun, pulled a larger pistol from a holster and displayed it in the room. Alexander said he did not know the caliber of the other gun.

Police have alleged that McClinton, whom Alexander called "Spencer," impersonated a law enforcement officer during the incident.

"Spencer went in kinda, you know, being Mr. Tough Guy," Alexander said, adding that McClinton's behavior "made things a lot worse than they probably would've been."

Alexander characterized Simpson as talkative and apparently surprised by McClinton's aggressive actions, saying, "Calm down, dude, you know, I mean, calm down, put them guns down." McClinton responded that he needed to make sure memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley weren't armed.

"I mean, Juice had told him just to carry the gun, not to, you know, take it out, just to show it," Alexander said. "But now he brought the gun out and he was like, you know, up against the walls, up against the walls."

Alexander, a real estate salesman from Mesa, Ariz., and Simpson's golfing buddy, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, a felony that could result in a sentence of one to six years in prison. Clark County District Attorney David Roger said Alexander could receive a suspended sentence and be eligible for probation.

Alexander's 45-page account, which is provided in court documents turned over by prosecutors to defense attorneys, raises the legal stakes for Simpson, who has said that guns were not involved.

"If it's true, it hurts O.J. tremendously," said Edward Miley, lawyer for co-defendant Charles Cashmore, who also has agreed to a plea deal.

Simpson's credibility would be damaged because he has said there were no guns involved, Miley said.

"It puts him at the scene where he knew there were firearms," he said. "Under conspiracy law in Nevada, he's on the hook if they can prove it."

Lawyers for McClinton and co-defendants Clarence "C.J." Stewart and Charles Ehrlich did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.

McClinton's lawyer, Bill Terry, has said McClinton, 49, of Las Vegas, works in the security industry and has a valid concealed weapons permit.

Alexander's lawyer, Robert Dennis Rentzer of Tarzana, Calif., said he believed his client "was truthful with police."