NEW YORK–The prosecution has rested its case-in-chief and what have we learned?

Well, we've learned that O.J. Simpson keeps lousy company. We've learned that the sports memorabilia business attracts some sketchy characters. And we’ve learned that O.J. Simpson sure has some good lawyers.

But here's what we haven't learned: Whether O.J. Simpson knew there would be guns there that night. Oh sure, some of these characters have said he knew. But they’re hardly going to win any credibility contests. And now, McClinton admitted on cross that Simpson never even said the word "gun."

And that matters. The guns matter, because this is an armed robbery case, not a simple robbery case. And without a single credible witness who can put a gun in O.J.’s hand, or on his mind, the proof just isn't there.

And that's the Last Word.

–Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

LAS VEGAS, Nevada—Lawyers for O.J. Simpson have begun presenting their defense against charges that the former football star masterminded a plan to steal personal items from two memorabilia dealers last September in a hotel room here. Alfred Beardsley, one of the two alleged victims in the case, returned to the courtroom as one of three defense witnesses questioned Monday.

Earlier, prosecutors rested their case, after gunman and former co-defendant Michael McClinton was questioned at length by Simpson attorney Gabriel Grasso. McClinton maintained Simpson intended for him to bring a weapon to the hotel room. “He wanted me to be security,” said McClinton. “He asked if I had a weapon’s permit and he knew I had a gun.”

McClinton, 50, conceded that he did not police investigating the case that Simpson asked him to bring guns along. “When you were talking to the police approximately a month after this incident, your statement to police was that he wanted you to go along as security, and that’s it?” asked Grasso. “That’s what I said,” replied McClinton.

Making one final push on re-cross, Grasso asked the question again; did McClinton tell police Simpson asked him to bring a weapon?

“I never told them that, but me and Mr. Simpson had…” the witness began, making an index finger-motion from his head to Simpson’s. Regardless of this “special telepathy” between the two, as Grasso sarcastically put it, McClinton conceded he never told police about this supposed request.

Simpson and co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart are facing 12 counts, including armed robbery and kidnapping, and face up to life in prison. They have both pleaded not guilty to all charges. Closing arguments in the case could be as early as Thursday, according to District Court Judge Jackie Glass.

In Session continues to bring you all the latest developments in this case.

–In Session staff

NEW YORK - By all accounts Michael McClinton was the real hot head in that room the night Nevada prosecutors say an armed robbery went down. Even the state admits it was McClinton who brandished a gun. And just listen to the recording of the incident. Sure, O.J. Simpson says "Gimme back my stuff," but it is McClinton who is in charge; he's the one barking orders. McClinton is making the threats. And he decided when it was time to get out of there.

Michael McClinton on the stand Monday

Now he's saying Simpson told him to bring a gun, to take it out and look menacing. I mean really. Menacing? Who talks like that? Maybe Simpson does. But here's what is just as likely. McClinton brings the gun because he can. He has a license to carry, after all. He pulls it out. And when police charge him with armed robbery and he's facing a life sentence, he knows the only way out is to give the state the big fish they’re really after, O.J. Simpson.

Why else would the gunman get a deal? So, of course McClinton will say what prosecutors need him to say, whether it's true or not. And that's the Last Word.

-Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

LAS VEGAS - A second gunman who admitted that he brandished a fully loaded semi-automatic handgun during the alleged robbery of two memorabilia dealers testified on Friday he brought the pistol at O.J. Simpson's request and was told by the former NFL star to "take it out and look menacing," just before entering the hotel room at the Palace Station.

Michael McClinton is expected to be the final prosecution witness

"My gun was drawn when I went through the threshold of that door," said Michael McClinton, who pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy and robbery. "He [Simpson] started screaming about his memorabilia. He said don't let no one out this room."

McClinton said he and friend Walter Alexander had met Simpson at the Palms Hotel earlier that afternoon, Simpson had wanted them to go along as security, and he agreed. He said Simpson had told them that there was a man [Thomas Riccio] an "inside Man" at the Palace Station.

McClinton testified that after Riccio let them into the room, "they filed in." He said he kept his gun out the whole time, loudly ordered people around, and described his position in the room as being so close to Simpson their shoulders were touching.

He testified that Alexander also drew his weapon briefly, which appears to contradict Alexander's testimony that he never took his gun out from his waistband.

He said the incident lasted about eight to ten minutes and when he felt it was time to leave, he signaled Simpson who was still ranting and raving, by squeezing his arm.

Following the alleged robbery McClinton said he and Alexander returned to his home where they changed their clothes to attend a pre-wedding party at the Little Buddha restaurant hosted by co-defendant Clarence Stewart.

McClinton said he brought a long a pocket microcassette recorder, because he and Alexander had discussed recording Simpson and selling the tape to the tabloids, but it became an exhibit for the prosecutors instead. An attempt to videotape the incident was abandoned when McClinton said he couldn't get his camera equipment to work. He testified he did not take the small video camera with him that night when he went to the Palace Station.

The 26-minute recording of Simpson's conversation with Alexander and McClinton in the hours following the alleged holdup was played for the jury. The men were heard laughing and joking about the confrontation in the hotel room.

"Oh, you saw me hollerin' at the boy with the New York shirt on," Simpson said laughing"…shaking like a mother f'er."

At one point during their discussion Simpson asked McClinton if he "pulled the piece out in the hall?

"I said no, no, no," McClinton testified.

According to the transcript Simpson then replied, "There ain't nothing on that video and look, they gonna look at the video. They're probably gonna look at that video. They gonna get all the video. Look at it before they decide what they gonna do. Ain't nothin' they can see, they gonna see us goin' in the place. Then they gonna see leaving with just the boxes.

Simpson also appeared to suggest that he wanted to keep his memorabilia out of the hands of the Goldmans'.

"And I knew, to be honest with you. I knew now the Goldmans would get it and sell it and so I, I told these guys do whatever you wanna do with it."

McClinton is expected to be the last witness for the prosecution. Stay tuned to In Session for continued live coverage of the trial.

-In Session staff

NEW YORK - Al Beardsley has really been put through the ringer. Of all the players in this mess, he's got the longest rap sheet. When the whole thing went down he went back to jail for being out of state – a violation of his parole. And now he's behind bars again, after Tom Riccio alleged Beardsley was making threats, another violation.

Thomas Riccio and Alfred Beardsley

Funny thing is, Alfred Beardsley may the most straight up guy in the room. After all, he's the alleged victim here. He has nothing to gain in this case. No sweetheart deals for him.

But the others, the four flipped co-defendants? They have everything to gain. Get your stories together and get a deal, which gives prosecutors the great white whale they've been seeking all along. And leave Clarence "C.J." Stewart just out of luck.

It's hard to know who to believe in all of this. But I put my money on the two who have the least to gain. The irony is they are the two men who hate each other most, Tom Riccio and Al Beardsley. Not because I like these guys. Not because I trust them. But because they are the two with no reason to lie. And the truth can make for strange bedfellows indeed. And that's the Last Word.

-Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

NEW YORK–Prosecutors are expected to rest their armed robbery and kidnapping case against O.J. Simpson and Clarence “C.J.” Stewart today after jurors hear alleged gunman Michael McClinton’s version of the events at the Palace Station hotel on September 13, 2007.

Alleged victim Alfred Beardsley undermines key prosecution evidence

Other witnesses have already testified that McClinton was waving a gun and shouting orders during the six-minute confrontation, when prosecutors say Simpson and five others stole items from two sports memorabilia dealers. Simpson, 61, has said he was there to recover property that belonged to him and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

One of those memorabilia dealers, Alfred Beardsley who has known Simpson for more than 20 years, testified Thursday. On cross examination, defense attorney Yale Galanter got to the heart of the matter; “I do not want to be here,” stated Beardsley, “because I’ve known Mr. Simpson for a number of years and I found that he had been misinformed, lied to, confused, and I believed he was targeted…in order to make quite a bit of money.”

Beardsley, who is presently jailed in California on a domestic violence parole violation, believes that Thomas Riccio, who arranged the meeting over the items, is to blame for the events inside room 1203 and also says Riccio’s audio recording does not include all that happened that night.

As for being a named victim in the case, Beardsley stated, “I’ve been going round and round with that [prosecution] office for the past year trying to get my name off that complaint.”

Later, Clark County District Attorney David Roger played the 911 call during which Beardsley is heard saying “We were just robbed at gunpoint by O.J. Simpson,” and “I want him arrested.”

Earlier in the day, another former co-defendant of Simpson’s, Charles Cashmore, told jurors that he saw guns during the confrontation, but conceded that no one corrected Simpson afterwards when he told them he did not see any guns.

–Carolyn Purcell, In Session senior executive producer, with In Session staff

LAS VEGAS, Nevada–When Mike Gilbert entered the courtroom here, I wanted to see if there would be any interaction between Gilbert and the former football great, now defendant, O.J. Simpson. Gilbert had been Simpson's sports agent/manager when Simpson was in his prime as an NFL football player. The two have not spoken for some time because of personal disagreements most likely accelerated by Gilbert's recent book "How I Helped O.J. Get Away With Murder."

Once Gilbert took the stand as a prosecution witness, his eyes began to scan the room and met Simpson's. Both men smiled deeply at each other. My impression was although much has happened between the two, both still remember the good times. Gilbert began to testify saying Simpson had been his idol since the eighth grade, and to become the football great's manager allowed him to also become a good friend.

–Jean Casarez, In Session correspondent

NEW YORK - Walter Alexander not only put his hand on the Bible before he took the stand, he brought his own Bible to court.

But has he read it? Because I listened to his testimony and I think he needs to review the Ten Commandments. You don’t even have to get that far into the good book to find them. They show up at Exodus, Chapter 20 and again in Deuteronomy, Chapter 5.

And I want to refer Mr. Alexander to one particular Commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor. That Commandment has made it’s way all the way from Mount Sinai to the common law, to the law of the state of Nevada. Which is precisely why he swore to tell the truth in the court of law and the first place, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

But Walter Alexander, it seems, did nothing of the sort. Instead, it seems, he lied about asking for money to slant his testimony, about his anger with O.J. Simpson because Simpson hadn’t paid for Alexander’s father’s funeral, and about what he does for a living.

So how do we know whether he’s lying about what happened in this case? Well, we don’t. And if we don’t, we can’t send two men to prison on his word, Bible or not. And that’s the Last Word.

-Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

Editor's note: Ms. Floyd dictates this blog. Errors in the original posting were due to the transcription of the blog, and not on her part.

NEW YORK - O.J. Simpson's former manager, Mike Gilbert, completed his testimony after testifying briefly about items of memorabilia linked to the armed robbery and kidnapping trial.

Mike Gilbert, Simpson's former manager, testified briefly on Thursday

Gilbert was on the stand for only about 20 minutes after the judge limited the scope of his testimony. He testified that Simpson had given him the items in question.

Simpson claims that Gilbert had stolen his belongings and thought he would meet Gilbert at the Palace hotel on the night of the confrontation and recover these items - including NFL game presentation balls, his Hall of Fame plaque, family photographs and a picture of him and former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.

The judge did not allow testimony supporting the prosecution's contention that Simpson was attempting to hide memorabilia so he wouldn't have to hand it over to the Goldman estate as part of a $33.5 million dollar civil wrongful death judgment.

The judge also ruled that Gilbert was not to be questioned about his tell-all book in which Gilbert claims that Simpson confessed to killing his ex-wife. After the book came out, Simpson's attorney Yale Galanter said that none of Gilbert's claims are true and that Gilbert is "a delusional drug addict who needs money."

In Session continues its live coverage of the trial.

-Bob Regan, In Session senior executive producer

LAS VEGAS, Nevada—Another man who accompanied O.J. Simpson into a Las Vegas hotel room last year says he saw guns when the group confronted two sports memorabilia dealers over items belonging to Simpson.

Charles Cashmore is the latest Simpson co-defendant to take the witness stand

Former co-defendant Charles Cashmore will continue his testimony this morning. On Wednesday, he told jurors that one of the men in the group, Michael McClinton, brandished a handgun when they were inside the room. Cashmore also recalled seeing a second man, Walter Alexander, with a gun tucked in his waistband but testified that he did not draw his weapon.

Cashmore said he had no idea that the intended purpose was to rob the memorabilia dealers, or that guns would be involved. Cashmore said Charles “C.J.” Stewart, also on trial with Simpson, had invited him to Simpson’s hotel earlier that afternoon and then the group traveled to the Palace Station. He testified that after the incident, Simpson repeatedly insisted “there were no guns.” “I know I saw a gun,” Cashmore said.

Alexander, another of Simpson’s former co-defendants and a long-time friend, took the witness stand earlier in the day to detail his role in the alleged armed robbery, a plan that he says was masterminded by Simpson.

During a testy cross-examination, Simpson attorney Yale Galanter and Alexander nearly came to blows at one point when Galanter attempted to confront Alexander with a transcript of previous testimony. Alexander objected to Galanter’s close proximity standing over him. Galanter retorted, “I’m going to do it exactly the way [prosecutor] Mr. Owens did it!”

Alexander insisted he did not like it and ordered him to step away, prompting the court’s deputy to move in closer. Judge Jackie Glass stood up and stepped toward the witness and Galanter.

Galanter’s exchange with the witness prompted another stern rebuke from Glass just before she left the bench for a recess, “Don’t do it again!” she said shaking her finger. “It’s not okay if the witness objects. Don’t do it again!”

Simpson is facing 12 charges, including armed robbery and kidnapping. He could face life in prison. He and Stewart have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Simpson says he simply wanted to recover personal property during the confrontation on September 13, 2007.

Stay tuned to In Session for extensive live coverage of this case.

–In Session staff