LAPD Recovers Stolen O.J. Simpson Heisman Trophy

Yesterday, TMZ Sports broke the story that the police obtained a warrant to search the premises of the man who they believed stole O.J. Simpson’s Heisman Trophy in 1994. Every year two trophies are given, one to the school and one to the player: and the award in question was stolen from USC over 20 years ago.

On top of the award, O.J.’s jersey was also stolen after the display case holding both items was dismantled. According to TMZ, the long forgotten cold case gained some traction “when a man called USC, saying he had purchased the trophy from a friend years ago and wanted to authenticate it. The USC folks determined the guy did indeed have the Heisman, but cops didn’t believe his story.”

Unfortunately, if he was the criminal, the statute of limitations to prosecute is well up: these statutes vary from state to state, but in California it is six years — eight years if it is an armed robbery. This means they would have needed to prosecute the robber by 2000.

So today, TMZ Sports broke another story claiming that the LAPD has officially reclaimed the trophy: there is no word if the person who had it actually committed crime.

And at the same time, the reported jersey was not found at the premises. It is safe to say the man who possessed the trophy is either the world’s dumbest criminal or a schlub who unknowingly bought a stolen item — and both of those options do not speak highly of his character.

To be honest, it is quite a surprise that the we are all talking about O.J. Simpson in 2015: which brings up the next question, after all that has happened, does USC really want the Heisman back? At the moment, it is not like they are proud to call O.J. an alum.