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Co-defendant: O.J. said bring guns

Simpson's friend says the weapons were to show they meant business.

LAS VEGAS - O.J. Simpson wanted armed men with him when he confronted two sports memorabilia dealers, according to a co-defendant who has agreed to plead guilty and testify against the former football star.

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

Alexander told police after his arrest Sept. 15 that he and another man showed up with guns at Simpson's request, then headed with him into a casino hotel room to retrieve collectibles that Simpson said belonged to him.

Simpson told Alexander the guns were just for show, "so that these people know that we're here for business," Alexander quoted Simpson as saying.

Simpson's attorney, Yale Galanter, said Simpson's position remains that there were no guns brought to the room and he did not tell anyone to bring guns.

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

Alexander, 46, told police he carried a .22-caliber handgun and Michael McClinton, who gave him that gun, pulled a larger pistol from a holster and displayed it in the room.

Police have alleged that McClinton impersonated a law enforcement officer during the alleged robbery.

McClinton went into the room "being Mr. Tough Guy," Alexander said, adding that McClinton's behavior "made things a lot worse than they probably would've been."

Alexander's 45-page account, which is provided in court documents turned over by prosecutors to defense attorneys, raises the legal stakes for Simpson.

"If it's true, it hurts O.J. tremendously," said Edward Miley, lawyer for co-defendant Charles Cashmore, who agreed to a plea deal. "It puts him at the scene where he knew there were firearms."

[Last modified October 18, 2007, 01:21:41]