Collector jailed on California parole violation

A naked suspect and a wanted Las Vegan joined an already colorful cast of characters in the O.J. Simpson robbery case.

Alfred Beardsley greeted officers in his birthday suit when they knocked on his hotel room door on Wednesday to arrest him for a California parole violation, authorities said.

Beardsley is a key witness in the case against Simpson. He is one of two sports memorabilia dealers who have accused Simpson and five other men of stealing more than $80,000 worth of sports memorabilia from them at Palace Station on Sept. 13.

"The parole department was made aware that he (Beardsley) was in Las Vegas by his appearance on TV" to discuss the case, said Tom Hession, chief of the regional U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force in Los Angeles.

The other witness to the case, Bruce Fromong, suffered a heart attack this week and was recovering in a California hospital on Wednesday.

Fidencio Rivera, chief deputy U.S. marshal in Las Vegas, said the marshals tracked Beardsley to the Luxor and arrested him about 8:30 a.m.

Beardsley "answered his door naked," Rivera said. "The U.S. marshals kept their composure and had Mr. Beardsley put on his clothing so he could be escorted off the property."

He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center, where he will remain pending extradition to California.

The California prison system issued a warrant for Beardsley's arrest on Saturday because the 46-year-old had violated parole by leaving the state without permission, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Beardsley was convicted of stalking and began serving a two-year sentence on April 26, 2005. He was scheduled to be discharged from parole on March 15, 2009.

Also on Wednesday, a fourth man wanted in connection with the Palace Station armed robbery turned himself in.

Charles Cashmore surrendered to Las Vegas police Wednesday morning and was booked into the county jail on multiple charges, including two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon and two counts of burglary with a deadly weapon.

Cashmore, 40, is accused of helping Simpson take dozens of Joe Montana lithographs, autographed baseballs and Simpson-signed footballs and plaques during the robbery, police said.

Simpson has said the items belonged to him and he was merely taking them back.

Police said Cashmore, who is from Southern Nevada, handed over some of the lithographs and other memorabilia upon turning himself in.

Cashmore was captured on video surveillance from Palace Station on Sept. 13 with his arms full of unidentified items. A man with Cashmore in the surveillance photos was still at large Wednesday.

Others arrested in connection with the robbery include 46-year-old Walter Alexander, 50-year-old Michael McClinton and 53-year-old Clarence Stewart.

Newly unearthed information shows Stewart, now a North Las Vegas resident, was charged with selling cocaine to an undercover detective for $150 in Baton Rouge in 1987, according to a Louisiana warrant for his arrest.

The warrant states that Stewart also loaded a handgun in front of the undercover detective and pointed it at the detective during the transaction, which took place at a club.

Stewart later pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and received two years supervised probation, according to Louisiana court document.

Review-Journal writer Francis McCabe and The Associated Press contributed to this report.