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Prosecutor: O.J. Simpson violated terms of bail

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) — O.J. Simpson was taken into custody in Florida on allegations that he violated terms of his bail by trying to talk a co-defendant out of cooperating in a Las Vegas armed robbery case, court documents say.

Simpson, 60, is to go before a Nevada judge on Wednesday at the request of Clark County District Attorney David Roger.

The prosecutor filed a motion Friday to revoke Simpson’s $125,000 bail.

Court documents obtained by CNN say Simpson allegedly tried to reach co-defendant Clarence Stewart though his bail bondsman. That was a violation of the terms of his release, according to a transcript of his bail hearing attached to the legal papers.

Authorities say they have a copy of a voicemail Simpson left for Stewart, the court documents say. Simpson is quoted as saying:

I just want, want C.J. to know that the whole thing all the time he was tellin’ me that (bleep), ya know. I hope he was telling me the truth. Don’t be trying to change the mother (bleeping) (bleep) now, mother (bleeping) (bleep) holes. I’m tired of this (bleep). Fed up with the mother (bleepers) changing what they told me.

Stewart is not cooperating with prosecutors.

Simpson was freed on bail on September 19 following his arrest on allegations he and several friends burst into a Las Vegas hotel room and robbed two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint.

Simpson has pleaded not guilty to 12 criminal counts in connection with what prosecutors contend was an armed robbery.

In November, a judge ordered the former football great and two co-defendants to stand trial.

The counts include conspiracy, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, coercion and assault with a deadly weapon.

Prosecutors allege Simpson and five other men burst into a room at the Palace Station Hotel, held two memorabilia dealers — Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong — against their will and flashed at least one gun while removing items.

Simpson said he was merely taking back items that belonged to him, but one of the two alleged victims described it as a military-style invasion.

Three other men initially charged along with Simpson in the incident — Walter Alexander, Charles Cashmore and Michael McClinton — testified against him during a preliminary hearing under the terms of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
found here.

Police: Missing Marine bought, never used bus ticket

JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina (CNN) — A pregnant Marine purchased a bus ticket the day she went missing from Camp Lejeune but never used it, the Onslow County sheriff said Friday.

Sheriff Ed Brown said the ticket was from Jacksonville, North Carolina, to El Paso, Texas.

Roshaun Hames told CNN affiliate WNCT-TV on Friday that he sold the ticket to Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach around 5 p.m. on December 14.

Hames said he thought Lauterbach was alone when she bought the ticket and that she drove off after asking if she could leave her car at the station, WNCT reported.

The ticket was good for six months, but Lauterbach was scheduled to use it December 15, Hames told WNCT, the day Lauterbach’s car was left near the station. Bus records show the ticket was never used, Hames said.

The sheriff also said Lauterbach’s ATM card was used at the Jacksonville Wal-Mart on December 24, according to CNN affiliate WITN-TV.

Brown is expected to talk to the roommate of Lauterbach on Friday morning and has scheduled a noon press conference with a major update in the case.

Lauterbach, 20, last contacted her family in Ohio on December 14 and was reported missing by her mother on December 19.

Documents released by Onslow County authorities on Thursday indicated Lauterbach may have left willingly, perhaps after being upset by a phone call.

The woman’s mother, Mary Lauterbach, told authorities that her daughter has a history of being a compulsive liar, a police report states.

Mary Lauterbach described having a firm conversation with Maria Lauterbach about her unborn child, telling her she should give the baby up for adoption because she is unable to care for it. Watch police face unanswered questions

Ms. Maria Lauterbach was telling Mary Lauterbach everything was fine, but Mary Lauterbach had a sense that the statements were not accurate, the report said.

Documents attached to a search warrant in the case cite the Marine’s mother as saying Lauterbach had been the victim of a sexual assault by a superior officer.

Brown said Thursday his office had not talked to the person accused in that case and referred any other comment to the Marine Corps. Officials at Camp Lejeune, where Lauterbach is based, have not commented on the assault allegations.

Earlier Thursday, Brown pleaded with Lauterbach to come forward and get help.

Regardless of the circumstances, this has got to stop, Brown said. You can’t run from those things in life.

Brown said he is leaning toward a positive outcome in the case. You pray that she’s alive, he said.

Mary Lauterbach said her daughter claimed to have been sexually assaulted by a senior officer, but the military investigation had gone sour, according to the Onslow County reports.

When police consulted with the military on the allegations, the military reported that the case was open, but it was difficult, due to inconsistencies provided by Maria Lauterbach, the reported victim.

Military investigators also confirmed the history of compulsive lying, the report said, adding Lauterbach was facing a possible discharge from the Marine Corps and was under personal and professional stress.

A Marine Corps Times story Thursday, citing unnamed sources, said Lauterbach may have fled her post after withdrawing the sexual assault allegations because she feared being charged with making a false statement. The newspaper said the allegations were lodged with Marine Corps officials last year and later withdrawn.

The Marine Corps has brought Lauterbach’s roommate, Sgt. Daniel Robert Durham, back to North Carolina from a training deployment in California to answer questions. Watch the sheriff say why he’ll talk with the roommate

The Onslow County report said Durham told police that he had made his home available to Lauterbach out of sympathy for her situation and that the two had shared the home for a short period of time.

Durham said he noticed nothing unusual in Lauterbach’s behavior before she disappeared, but he said, She had been upset by a phone call from her stepmother.

A few items of Lauterbach’s were missing, he said — her car, some cosmetics and clothing — that led him to believe she may have left willingly. However, Durham told police that Lauterbach was confined to bed most of the time because of her pregnancy and that she was in no shape for extended outings, according to the reports.

Brown called Durham a close friend who may be the last person known to have talked with Lauterbach before her disappearance.

Brown said Lauterbach may have been due to give birth January 8. The police reports, however, said she was due on February 14 and did not show up for a prenatal medical appointment December 28.

Lauterbach’s cell phone was found on a roadside near Camp Lejeune on December 20. Her car was found Monday in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant, Brown said, and apparently had been there since December 15. The car was processed, he said, but nothing of value was found.

Investigators have said a withdrawal from Lauterbach’s bank account was made on December 14 and there was suspicious activity on the account 10 days later. Police reports said Lauterbach’s ATM card was used at a Marine Federal Credit Union by a man who attempted to cover the surveillance camera with a rag while he withdrew money from her account.

A search warrant released with the other documents Thursday seeks Western Union records, saying authorities have reason to believe Lauterbach may be receiving financial support through money transfers.

Lauterbach is a personnel clerk assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, the Marine Corps said. She joined the service on June 6, 2006.
found here.

Kenya faces further violent clashes

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) — Kenya’s opposition party has called for mass protests and rallies, a spokesman told CNN on Friday, raising the prospect of further bloodshed in what has long been one of East Africa’s most stable and economically-developed nations.

The call follows the failure of the African Union to mediate a bitter conflict sparked by the disputed presidential election on December 27.

The Orange Democratic Movement spokesman did not say when the rallies could take place, with the party having had to cancel two previous publicized gatherings when government troops met its supporters with force.

Several hundred people have died in the violence, prompted when President Mwai Kibaki declared victory over challenger Raila Odinga.

Much of the violence has taken on ethnic overtones, pitting supporters of Kibaki, a member of the Kikuyu tribe, against supporters of Odinga, a member of the Luo tribe.

International monitors, including a senior U.S. diplomat, have cited irregularities in the voting.

A U.S. diplomat told CNN Thursday said that former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan would take over mediation efforts in the dispute as African Union chairman John Kufuor, Ghana’s president, had left Kenya without a resolution to the dispute.

The news concerning Annan’s role in the talks followed Kibaki’s swearing-in of 17 Cabinet members in Nairobi.

The Orange Democratic Movement criticized the move because the president was choosing a government before the current political crisis is settled.

Kibaki said he swore in 17 officials to keep the government running, but did not fill all the Cabinet posts because of the political negotiations.

Those sworn in are members of either Kibaki’s group or another opposition party. None are affiliated with Odinga’s party.
found here.

Treasure hunters told to show maps

TAMPA, Florida (AP) — The Spanish government will receive detailed information about a shipwreck site where a Florida company found $500 million worth of coins and artifacts last year, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

Odyssey Marine Exploration will reveal the exact location of the shipwreck and items found onboard, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Pizzo said.

The company will also disclose the locations of two other shipwrecks, the judge said.

The information, which includes videos and photos taken from the sites, will not be made public, he said. Odyssey is required to turn the information over within two weeks, and Spanish representatives will be allowed to view the treasure.

Spain has sought the information in federal court because it contends it is entitled to the treasure if it comes from one of its sunken ships, or if the artifacts were removed from Spain’s territorial waters.

The agreement is best for everybody, Odyssey co-founder Greg Stemm said after the hearing. Now we can talk about the facts.

In all, Odyssey found three shipwreck sites that piqued the interest of the Spanish. The company dubbed the most lucrative Black Swan and have declined to discuss details of the coins or any other artifacts.

Court records show the Black Swan site is 200 miles west of Gibraltar, a British territory at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula.

Odyssey officials have refused to disclose a more specific location, concerned that other firms may plunder or destroy the site.

James Goold, a Washington attorney who is representing Spain, acknowledged that the government may decide it has no claim to the Black Swan coins after viewing the information.

He argued Thursday that Spanish officials needed precise information so that government entities — such as the navy — could protect the site if necessary.

The Tampa-based company flew 17 tons of silver coins and other artifacts to the U.S. in May. Its value has been estimated at $500 million.

The two sides had been at odds for months, with Spain detaining some of Odyssey’s ships and demanding that Odyssey deliver more information. Odyssey officials refused without a confidentiality agreement, which Pizzo approved Thursday.

These are treasures that we do not want to see true pirates take away, said Allen von Spiegelfeld, an attorney representing Odyssey.

The initial find had generated press speculation that Odyssey had salvaged the wreck of the Merchant Royal, which sank off England in 1641, or the Sussex, a British ship that sank in a storm off Gibraltar in 1694.

But Odyssey representatives said in court that the main wreckage is an 18th century vessel. Another of the shipwrecks that was found is apparently an Italian ship, according to comments made in court Thursday.

The two sides are scheduled to return to court in March to discuss whether the case will move forward.

Pizzo wondered aloud how much the coordinates would help Spain in determining whether it had rights to the ship. There wasn’t GPS in 1492, he quipped.

Odyssey shares gained 10 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $5.41 Thursday.
found here.