LAS VEGAS — A witness who acknowledged saving himself from a potential life sentence by testifying against O.J. Simpson conceded Tuesday that his memory of the 2007 hotel room confrontation at the center of the case hasn’t been the same since he suffered two heart attacks.
Charles Ehrlich, Simpson’s longtime friend and former co-defendant, frequently answered “I don’t recall” during a tough cross-examination by Simpson’s lawyer, Yale Galanter.
For nearly a year, Ehrlich stood by Simpson as a co-defendant, facing 12 charges that included kidnapping, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and coercion. They and four other men were arrested after allegedly robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint.
In August, he became the fourth co- defendant to plead guilty to reduced charges and agree to testify against Simpson.
On Monday, Ehrlich contradicted Simpson’s claim that he never saw a gun in the hotel room.
Galanter attacked Ehrlich’s credibility Tuesday, repeatedly asking for specifics. Who was standing where, and who told him what was going to happen? “I can’t remember that,” Ehrlich said. “I can’t recall.”
Ehrlich said he had posed questions to middleman Thomas Riccio about the planned meeting at a room in the Palace Station Hotel Casino. But when asked what the questions were, Ehrlich said: “I can’t recall exactly the questions. That was a year ago.”
