OJ Surrenders

Simpson is charged with burglary of a car and misdemeanor battery. The charges carry a combined 16 years behind bars. But State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said Simpson would probably not serve any time if convicted. "The goal here will be to find some sort of programming or sentence that would involve learning how to control oneself, whether it`s on the road or elsewhere," Rundle said.

Simpson posted $9,000 bail and was released less than two hours after he walked into a Miami-Dade County jail at noon. He mugged for the news cameras as attorney Yale Galanter read a statement to the media, calling the incident "a road rage misunderstanding."

While his attorney was talking, Simpson signed an autograph for a woman who approached him. He then got into a car with his lawyers and left without commenting.

Motorist Jeffrey Pattinson, 55, told police Simpson scratched him when he pulled the glasses off during the Dec. 4 dispute.

Pattinson told police he slammed on his brakes and honked at a sport utility vehicle after he saw the SUV drive past a stop sign in suburban Kendall, where Simpson now lives. Simpson stopped, got out and walked toward Pattinson`s car, where they argued, according to Pattinson.

Pattinson said he heard a girl shouting, "No, Daddy, no, Daddy, no!" when Simpson reached into his car.

Simpson has denied wrongdoing. He said Pattinson shouted at him and he shouted back, then returned to his car and drove his two youngest children home. "Mr. Simpson was not the aggressor in that incident," Galanter said.

A woman answering the phone at Pattinson`s home said he had no comment. A jury acquitted Simpson of the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. In a subsequent civil trial, Simpson was found liable for the killings and ordered to pay $33.5 million.

Simpson moved to the Miami area early last year. Since then, police have responded three times to reported disturbances between Simpson and his on-and-off girlfriend, Christie Prody.

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News(AP)