Former football great O.J. Simpson became a free man Sunday after serving nine years for a botched hotel room heist that brought prison time he avoided after his 1995 acquittal in the killings of his ex-wife and her friend.
Simpson was released at 12:08 a.m. Pacific time from Lovelock Correctional Center in northern Nevada, state prisons spokeswoman Brooke Keast told the Associated Press. She said she didnโt know immediately where Simpson was headed, adding that an unidentified driver met him and took him to an undisclosed location.
โI donโt have any information on where heโs going,โ said Keast, who watched Simpson in blue jeans, denim jacket and ball cap signing documents before his release.
Her department released a brief video on social media of Simpson being told to โcome on outโ by a prison staffer. He responded โOK,โ walked through an open door and into the pre-dawn darkness just minutes into the first day a parole board set for his possible release.
Tom Scotto, a Simpson friend who lives in Naples, Fla., said by text message an hour later that he was with Simpson, but did not answer texts asking where they were going or whether members of Simpsonโs family were with them.
Along with Simpsonโs sister and daughter, Scotto had attended the July parole hearing at the same prison where Simpson served his time.
Simpson has said he wanted to move back to Florida, where he lived before his armed robbery conviction in Las Vegas in a September 2007 confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers. But Florida prison officials indicated Sunday morning his return did not appear imminent.
Floridaโs Corrections Department โhas not received any transfer paperwork from Nevadaโ about Simpson, spokeswoman Ashley Cook said.
Though Floridaโs attorney general has urged the department to object to Simpsonโs return, the department previously has said it would be required to accept a transfer if the request met certain criteria.
Simpsonโs attorney, Malcolm LaVergne, and state Parole and Probation Capt. Shawn Arruti, who has been handling Simpsonโs case, did not respond to messages Sunday seeking comment.
LaVergne said recently that Simpson was looking forward to reuniting with his family, eating a steak and some seafood and moving back to Florida. Simpson also plans to get an iPhone and get reacquainted with technology that was in its infancy when he was sent to prison in 2008, his attorney said.
Keast said the overnight release from the prison about 90 miles east of Reno, Nevada, was conducted to avoid media attention.
โWe needed to do this to ensure public safety and to avoid any possible incident,โ Keast added.
The 70-year-old Simpson gains his freedom after being granted parole in July. He faces restrictions during up to five years of parole supervision and is unlikely to escape public scrutiny as the man who morphed from charismatic football hero, movie star and TV personality into suspected killer and convicted armed robber.
Nevada authorities said Simpson cannot use illegal drugs and can drink alcohol only if the amount he drinks is below Nevadaโs blood-alcohol limit for driving.
He also is prohibited from associating with felons or anyone who Nevada officials prohibit him contacting. He must tell the state where heโll be living and when he changes his residence. The conditions apply if Simpson ends up out of state.
Simpson lost his home near Miami to foreclosure in 2012. But two of his children, Justin and Sydney, also live in Florida.
He could live at least temporarily in Las Vegas, where a friend let Simpson use his home for five weeks during his robbery trial.
His five years of parole supervision could be reduced with credits for good behavior.