heisman oj
Tom Kriessman of Philadelphia poses February 18 with the Heisman Trophy once owned by O.J. Simpson, which Kriessman bought at auction for $230,000 plus auction fees in February of 1999. Another copy of the trophy was stolen from USC in 1994, and a California man was charged in September of 2015 for possession of that trophy, which was recovered by the LAPD in January. REUTERS/Staff

Los Angeles -- California prosecutors brought charges against Lewis Eugene Starks Jr. on Wednesday, allegedly in connection with the theft of a 1968 O.J. Simpson Heisman Trophy in 1994 after recovering it earlier in 2015. Before O.J. Simpson was a perpetual defendant, he was a football star and the winner of the Heisman Trophy. Disgraced in the media, ejected from the sports world and found liable for damages in the murder of his wife, Simpson found himself in a mountain of debt and court costs. He’s now in prison on other charges.

The former football star sold his Heisman trophy via an auction house to an anonymous collector for $230,000. But there were two copies of the statue. The other one was displayed in the University of Southern California’s Heritage Hall until one night in the summer of 1994 after Simpson’s arrest. That copy went missing for years, until the LAPD recovered in in January, allegedly in the possession of Lewis Eugene Starks Jr.

Mr. Starks is being charged with one count of receiving stolen property. L.A. prosecutors say that Starks attempted to sell the trophy in an online auction for $70,000. He is not charged with the 1994 burglary at USC. The criminal complaint filed by the district attorney noted that Stark was convicted of a separate burglary in the past. Mr. Starks was reportedly arrested on Monday. If convicted, he could face up to six years in jail.

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