Police taped joking about O.J. Simpson

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Lawyers for O.J. Simpson grilled a Las Vegas police detective Thursday about investigators' recorded jokes about getting the former football star.

Simpson and a co-defendant are on trial on charges that they kidnapped and robbed two sports memorabilia dealers in a Vegas hotel room. The recording was made by Thomas Riccio, an auctioneer who set up the meeting who said he thought he was helping Simpson recover some of his own property and did not realize Simpson planned to use violence.

Defense lawyer Yale Galanter asked Detective Andy Caldwell to read the transcript of remarks made by crime scene investigators, The Los Angeles Times reported. Riccio's recorder remained in the hotel room after police arrived.

"This is great. John said uh, yeah -- he is like California can't get him. ... Now we'll be like ... got him," Caldwell read.

Simpson's lawyers appear to be using a tactic his defense team used in his California trial for the 1994 killing of his ex-wife, Nichole, and Ronald Goldman. That is to suggest that investigators zeroed in on Simpson as a suspect immediately because of his race or celebrity and ignored evidence that did not fit.