O.J. Simpson Arrested on Burglary and Battery Charges in Florida
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: First, though, O.J. Simpson is back in the news this afternoon. He has turned himself in to police after -- in Miami-Dade County, Florida. That happened just moments ago within the last hour. And we get all the details of this event now from CNN's Susan Candiotti, who's in Miami -- Susan, good afternoon.</s>SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Stephen. Why, just any time now, we expect O.J. Simpson to be bonding out of a jail here in Miami-Dade County. He spent about an hour there after being charged with two arrest charges from the Miami-Dade police and the Dade State Attorney's Office. Those charges are: burglary of an occupied vehicle -- a second- degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of 15 years -- and a first-degree battery charge, which is a misdemeanor. Now, all of this dates back to an alleged incident that occurred on December the 4th of last year -- the alleged victim of the case: a Jeffrey Pattinson of Miami. He alleges that O.J. Simpson ran a stop sign, that Pattinson then honked his horn at O.J. Simpson, that Simpson allegedly stopped his car, came over to Pattinson's car, reached inside an open driver's-side window, and grabbed the glasses from his face. Now, Pattinson tells police that he then heard a young girl's voice shouting from the inside of the black Navigator vehicle that Simpson was driving -- the young girl allegedly yelling out, "No daddy, no, no." Now, during this time, the Dade State's Attorney Office said they've been investigating the incident and only now have charged Simpson with those two charges that we told you about. His lawyer addressed reporters outside the jail.</s>UNIDENTIFIED ATTORNEY: As you are aware, Mr. Simpson was involved in a road-rage misunderstanding on December the 4th of 2000. Mr. Simpson was not the aggressor in that incident. Mr. Simpson is prepared to allow his lawyers to guide him through the legal system of Dade County. Mr. Simpson wanted me to tell you that he wishes to be an important part of this community and wishes to assimilate well into it. As a single father raising two children here in Miami-Dade County, his only goal is to be a great father and good provider to his children. He looks forward to putting this unfortunate misunderstanding behind him.</s>CANDIOTTI: You will recall that O.J. Simpson moved to South Florida just last year. This is the fifth incident or run-in he has had with police since May of last year. And his attorney says that Simpson plans to address the public at a news conference scheduled at 4:00 this afternoon Eastern Time -- back to you, Stephen.</s>FRAZIER: Susan, you were outside? Can you tell us what we should make of all of the kind of goofing around that O.J. Simpson displayed on his way into court for this appearance? He seemed to be, you know, teasing with the cameramen and making a big joke out of the whole scene.</s>CANDIOTTI: Well, I was not present at that particular moment, Stephen, but I can tell you that it's not unusual, when reporters have approached Mr. Simpson during the time he's been here in South Florida, for him to joke around with them. And, of course, he will be addressing reporters formally this afternoon. He wasn't making a court appearance at this time. He did, however, have to appear at the jail to be processed on these two charges. The bond was posted, and he left.</s>FRAZIER: Susan Candiotti, thank you for those clarifications this afternoon -- Susan Candiotti in Miami -- Natalie.