Man charged in '94 burglary of USC's O.J. Simpson Heisman Trophy

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Wednesday, September 2, 2015

LOS ANGELES -- A man arrested in connection with the theft of a duplicate of O.J. Simpson's Heisman Trophy more than 20 years ago from the University of Southern California faced arraignment Wednesday on a felony charge, prosecutors said.

Lewis Eugene Starks Jr., 56, of Apple Valley, was arrested Monday on suspicion of receiving stolen property.

Police recovered the trophy in December after Starks tried to sell it, Los Angeles County prosecutors said.

The trophy, a Simpson jersey and a plaque were stolen from a display case in a burglary at the university in 1994 while Simpson was awaiting trial in the killings of his ex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman. He was acquitted of murder the following year.

The Heisman, awarded to the most outstanding college football player, was a duplicate given to the university in 1968.

Simpson's own trophy was seized under a $33.5 million judgment after a civil court jury found him liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Goldman.

Simpson is in a Nevada prison for an armed heist in a Las Vegas casino hotel room.

Starks was being held on $70,000 bail. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer who could comment.

Police announced the recovery of the trophy and plaque in January but didn't initially make an arrest. They said at the time that the jersey was still missing.

Starks, who has a burglary conviction on his record, could face up to six years in state prison if convicted of the charge.

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