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Prosecutors charge O.J. Simpson and three others

  • Story Highlights
  • NEW: Fourth suspect in custody; police release video of two unidentified men
  • Prosecutors file numerous charges against Simpson and others
  • Alleged victim in critical condition following heart attack, hospital says
  • Ex-NFL star Simpson held without bond; expected in court Wednesday
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LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- Prosecutors on Tuesday filed numerous criminal charges against former NFL star O.J. Simpson and three other men in connection with an alleged armed robbery at a Las Vegas hotel last week.

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Jailed former football star and actor O.J. Simpson is due to appear in court again Wednesday.

The 11 charges include two counts of first-degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon; two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon; and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

Prosecutors say Simpson and his co-defendants -- Walter Alexander, Clarence Stewart and Michael McClinton -- committed kidnapping because they intended to hold or detain the two alleged victims using a weapon.

McClinton, described as a "key player" in the alleged theft, turned himself in Tuesday evening, a source close to the investigation told CNN.

Also on Tuesday, Las Vegas police released surveillance camera photos of two men they said were unidentified suspects in the incident.

One of the alleged victims, Bruce Fromong, 53, suffered a major heart attack and was in critical condition Tuesday at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the hospital said.

Earlier, Fromong told the celebrity Web site TMZ.com that Simpson and other men came into a hotel room at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino and demanded the return of items they said belong to Simpson.

Simpson and the three others are accused of pointing guns at Fromong and Alfred Beardsley, the other alleged victim, and taking the memorabilia, along with Fromong's cell phone and Beardsley's baseball cap and sunglasses.

Beardsley said he initially thought the alleged robbery was a law enforcement operation.

O.J. Simpson set up?
Tonight on "Larry King Live," the man reportedly behind the hotel tapes on claims he set Simpson up.
Tonight, 9 p.m. ET

Simpson, 60, was arrested Sunday. Before his arrest, Simpson said he was merely retrieving items belonging to him, and that no guns were involved. Police said Simpson orchestrated the incident and the suspects had at least two firearms, which authorities recovered during searches.

The Hall of Fame running back is being held without bail and is expected to appear in court Wednesday morning, Las Vegas Judge Nancy Oesterle said Monday. See how Simpson has made headlines in the past decade »

It was unclear how much prison time Simpson could face if convicted as charged.

Alexander, 46, was arrested Saturday and released without bail. Stewart was booked Monday. He posted bail Tuesday and was released, the Clark County Detention Facility said.

Beardsley told Larry King he was contacted last month by Thomas Riccio, who said he had a client who wanted to buy some high-end O.J. Simpson items and would pay top dollar for them. Riccio is a dealer and auctioneer of sports and celebrity memorabilia. He is also the source of the highly publicized audio recording he claims came from the incident.

Riccio said he called Simpson and told him Beardsley and Fromong had the items, but that the alleged robbery was Simpson's idea.

Beardsley then called Fromong, a Simpson acquaintance, who gave him a list of items he could provide. Although the items Fromong mentioned were in the room at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino on Thursday, Beardsley said he himself did not purchase them.

Riccio on Tuesday told King that Beardsley called him and said he had some items, at least some of which were "stolen" from Simpson's house. Riccio, who has been granted immunity, said he informed Simpson of the stolen memorabilia and led Simpson and other men to the hotel room.

"There's a lot of controversy about who is owner of the items right now," Beardsley said. "I'd rather let a judge decide who is the owner, [but] they were in mine and Bruce Fromong's possession."

That ownership was disputed Tuesday in a court in Santa Monica, California, as Fred Goldman and his family asked a judge to order Simpson to turn over the items he allegedly stole in that incident.

The judge denied the request, saying Goldman's attorneys failed to provide a list of the items they wanted and determine who owned them.

The Goldmans are attempting to collect on a $33.5 million judgment they won against Simpson in a civil wrongful death suit in connection with the 1994 murders of Ron Goldman and Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. Simpson was acquitted of those slayings in a criminal court.

Alexander told King he had been friends with Simpson for years and was in Las Vegas to attend the same wedding Simpson planned to attend.

He said he knew "exactly what happened in that situation [the alleged robbery] before, during and after," and he claimed that Simpson was "set up."

"It's very obvious that Thomas Riccio had intentions to set O.J. up, and that's what happened," he said.

On the recording Riccio sold to TMZ.com, a voice sounding like Simpson's yells orders and profanities and repeatedly accuses someone of stealing his things.

"Don't let nobody out of this room," the voice says before directing his ire at another person. "Motherf------, you think you can steal my s--- and sell it?" Video Hear TMZ's recording of the confrontation »

"Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and now I'm in the middle of this mess and I hate that it happened," Alexander said.

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He predicted that this time, Simpson will go to jail for what happened.

"There's been an outcry for him to pay for possible past transgressions," Alexander said. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez and Erika Snider contributed to this report.

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