Jury Selection Begins As Another Roles On OJ

There's just five weeks until the O.J. Simpson robbery and kidnapping trial is set to begin. Monday, one of the key players in the hotel room shakedown flipped and agreed to testify against Simpson. Charles Ehrlich is one of the five men who joined Simpson during last year's alleged heist at the Palace Station. So what will this deal mean for the case against O.J.?

Monday marked the start of an astounding 500 prospective jurors filling out questionnaires. The first batch of 100 people came to the Regional Justice Center to begin the process. But the most significant development of the day involved a co-defendant taking a deal. Charles Ehrlich has now become the fourth man in the Simpson case to accept a plea deal from prosecutors, leaving only Clarence Stewart and O.J. Simpson himself as defendants in this case.

In exchange for pleading guilty to the greatly reduced charges of attempted accessory to robbery and attempted burglary, Ehrlich agrees to join the other deal-takers in testifying against Simpson at the upcoming trial. Simpson's attorney told the Associated Press Monday, "Getting this type of sweetheart deal this late in the game shows the prosecution is stretching to fill holes in an otherwise weak and crumbling case."

Whether it is weak or not, prosecutors aren't backing down. They'll be using surveillance pictures, victim statements, co-conspirator testimony, and Simpson's own words as evidence during the trial. Simpson is accused of trying to steal from a memorabilia dealer at the Palace Station. During the preliminary hearing, another one of the former co-defendants, Michael McClinton, told the court that Simpson orchestrated the confrontation, saying, "I brought my weapon because O.J. Simpson wanted me to have a weapon."

Prosecutors are hoping that Charles Ehrlich will have similar things to say when he takes the stand against Simpson. No decision was made Monday as to whether Ehrlich will have to spend any time in prison. His sentencing will happen after the Simpson trial is over.

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