Witnesses agree guns involved in Simpson flap

updated 2:21 p.m. ET Nov. 9, 2007

LAS VEGAS - One key prosecution witness contradicted the account of another Friday, saying he used a key to admit O.J. Simpson and a group of men to a hotel room to claim Simpson’s property, denying there was a “military style invasion.”

“I had a key and I let them in,” said Thomas Riccio. “Nobody was busting the door down.”

Riccio, a memorabilia dealer who set up the Sept. 13 hotel room meeting that led to Simpson’s arrest on robbery and other charges, also said the former football star told him he never saw a gun during the confrontation.

But Riccio said he saw a man wave a gun near his face as hundreds of items were being taken from two other memorabilia dealers. He said Simpson’s plan to retrieve items he said were stolen from him began to “go south” when the weapon was pulled.

“O.J. made it clear to me he didn’t see a gun,” Riccio said. “I made it clear to him I did.”

Riccio’s testimony came during the second day of an evidentiary hearing to determine if Simpson, Clarence “C.J.” Stewart and Charles Ehrlich should face armed robbery, kidnapping and other charges for the encounter at the Palace Station Hotel Casino. Testimony is to resume Tuesday.

Three other men have agreed to plead guilty and testify against the defendants.

Riccio: 'Good chance' Simpson didn't see a gun
Simpson, wearing a dark suit and white shirt, arrived for the hearing through the courthouse’s main entrance, avoiding most reporters and photographers who had been camped out at a “secure” entrance he had used the day before. He stood and chatted amiably with a uniformed court officer for several minutes before the hearing resumed.

Riccio, testifying under cross-examination by Simpson lawyer Yale Galanter, said during several conversations following the incident, Simpson never wavered from his contention that he never saw a gun.

“There’s a real good chance he didn’t see it,” Riccio said. “He was standing several feet in front of the guy that had the gun.”

Later Friday, a man recruited to help gather Simpson’s memorabilia and carry it from the hotel room said he saw two men with guns during the confrontation but that he heard Simpson say several times that he never saw a gun. He also said he heard Simpson say he didn’t want to keep any memorabilia that wasn’t his.

Witnesses: Simpson urged guns
Other witnesses who have yet to testify have said previously that Simpson not only saw guns but suggested that firearms be brought to the hotel room.

Fact file Is this what O.J. was after? NBC News has obtained exclusive photos of the items O.J. Simpson allegedly tried to seize from a hotel room in Las Vegas.

In a deal with prosecutors, Cashmore pleaded guilty to accessory to robbery and agreed to testify against Simpson. On cross-examination, Simpson’s Las Vegas attorney, Gabriel Grasso, suggested that the deal Cashmore received from prosecutors is coloring his testimony.

Cashmore, who had faced a maximum life sentence if convicted of the original charges, could get anything from probation to five years in prison under the terms of his plea deal.

Noting that Cashmore had never been in jail before, he asked, “So a life sentence was weighing heavily in your mind?”’

“I think that’s a fair statement,” Cashmore replied.

Riccio said Simpson’s plan to go to Las Vegas and retrieve the material had been under way for at least six weeks before Sept. 13. “Never at any time in the whole six weeks did he ever mention a gun,” said Riccio.

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