O.J. Simpson released to parole
Ex-football star has suggested move to Florida
LAS VEGAS - O.J. Simpson became a free man Sunday after serving nine years for a botched hotel room heist.
Simpson was released at 12:08 a.m. PDT from Lovelock Correctional Center in northern Nevada, state prisons spokeswoman Brooke Keast told the Associated Press. She said an unidentified driver took Simpson to an undisclosed location.
“I don’t have any information on where he’s going,” said Keast, who watched Simpson in blue jeans, denim jacket and ball cap signing documents before his release.
Her department released a brief video on social media of Simpson being told to “come on out” by a prison staffer. He responded, “OK,” and walked through an open door and into the predawn darkness just minutes into the first day a parole board set for his possible release.
Tom Scotto, a Simpson friend who lives in Naples, Florida, said by text message an hour later that he was with Simpson but did not answer texts asking where they were going.
Along with Simpson’s sister and daughter, Scotto had attended the July parole hearing at the same prison where Simpson served his time.
Simpson has said he wanted to move back to Florida, where he lived before his armed robbery conviction in Las Vegas in a September 2007 confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers. But Florida prison officials indicated Sunday morning that his return did not appear imminent.
Florida’s Corrections Department “has not received any transfer paperwork from Nevada” about Simpson, spokeswoman Ashley Cook said.
Though Florida’s attorney general has urged the department to object to Simpson’s return, the department previously has said it would be required to accept a transfer if the request met certain criteria.
Simpson’s attorney, Malcolm LaVergne, and state Parole and Probation Capt. Shawn Arruti, who has been handling Simpson’s case, did not respond to messages Sunday seeking comment.
LaVergne said recently that Simpson was looking forward to reuniting with his family, eating a steak and some seafood, and moving back to Florida. Simpson also plans to get an iPhone, his attorney said.