Under the cover of darkness and a world away from the hysteria of his infamous 1995 murder trial, Hollywood star and former football player O.J. Simpson has slipped out of Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nevada as a free man.
In a bid to avoid a media storm, the 70-year-old was released just after midnight on Sunday morning local time after serving nine years for armed robbery and kidnapping.
He will now serve out five years on parole and be closely monitored until Sept. 29, 2022.
Moments before he set foot to his newfound freedom, a dressed down O.J. could be seen signing paperwork before being told to “come out” by a prison worker.
Brooke Keast, spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Corrections, told CNN that O.J. was released just after midnight and picked up in a car by an unknown friend.
“I told him, ‘don’t ‘come back,’ and he responded, ‘I don’t intend to,’” revealed to CNN.
“He was upbeat, personable and seemed happy to get on with his life.”
“Our biggest concern was our safety and the public’s safety and not wanting anybody, paparazzi, to follow him,” the spokesperson continued.
“He left through a big blue door through the front gatehouse and exited quietly. He looked down because he didn’t want to be photographed.”
Dressed down in a cap and denim jacket, O.J. was seen signing paperwork before being released.
Tension is already mounting over where O.J. will reside, with reports the father-of-five wants to move back to Florida to be with his family.
However Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says she doesn’t want to let O.J. back.
“Floridians are well aware of Mr. Simpson’s background, his wanton disregard for the lives of others, and of his scofflaw attitude with respect to the heinous acts for which he has been found civilly liable,” she said in a statement.
“The specter of his residing in Florida should not be an option. Numerous law enforcement officials in Florida agree with this position. Our state should not become a country club for this convicted criminal.”
The former Buffalo Bills player was granted parole in July.
He was convicted of leading a group of four men — two of whom were armed — to storm a Las Vegas hotel in 2007 to steal sports memorabilia which he maintains was his property.
The 70-year-old was serving time for robbery and kidnapping.
The only surviving member of the men caught in an armed robbery during Simpson’s raid on sports memorabilia dealers said the former sports-star-turned-actor has served his time and also asked for Simpson’s release.
Of course Simpson is probably still best known for being acquitted of murdering ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman after “the trial of the century” in 1995.
Most notably, one of his defence lawyers was the late Robert Kardashian.
In 1995. O.J. was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
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