Two co-defendants, one of them a Mesa man, pleaded guilty to reduced charges Tuesday in the O.J. Simpson armed-robbery case, agreeing to testify against Simpson and three others in the alleged theft of sports collectibles from two memorabilia dealers.

Behind the scenes, prosecutors prepared to file an amended criminal complaint increasing the number of charges in the case to 12, including a second felony charge of coercion against Simpson and two new coercion charges each against the three remaining co-defendants.

The new complaint also alleges Simpson and Charles "C.J." Stewart conspired to persuade others to tell authorities that no guns were used.

The revised document, obtained by the Associated Press, removes Walter Alexander of Mesa and Charles Cashmore from the case, while naming Thomas Riccio in the Sept. 13 meeting between Simpson and memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley.

Riccio, who was given immunity from prosecution, is expected to join Cashmore and Alexander in testifying for the prosecution.

Alexander pleaded guilty to the felony of conspiracy to commit robbery.

The district attorney said he would seek a suspended sentence for Alexander, a golfing buddy of Simpson's. "I'm very much at peace at what I've done today and what I'm going to continue to do," Alexander said as he clutched a Bible outside court. "I'm not here to try to hurt or help O.J. Simpson. I'm only here to tell the truth."

Late on Monday, the Nevada State Supreme Court agreed to a request by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada to stay the execution pending an upcoming ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of execution by lethal injection. The country's highest court agreed on September 25 to review the issue, the same day Castillo was scheduled to die.

The Nevada court also said the state's methods are cruel and unusual because the prisoner is so heavily sedated it is impossible for witnesses to determine the actual effects of the injection, effectively violating First Amendment rights.

The ruling is an effective reprieve because Castillo's execution order is only good for a week, and the U.S. Supreme Court is not expected to rule before then. A number of states, including California, have halted executions pending the legal review of whether the current method of lethal injection constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

Castillo had given up his remaining appeals, saying he was ready to die for bludgeoning an 86-year-old Las Vegas teacher to death in 1995.

Castillo worked on Isabel Brendt's roof, then returned with a female companion after finding a house key. He burglarized the home and beat Brendt to death with a tire iron. They later burned down the home.

The complaint charges NutriSystem and certain of its officers with violations of the Exchange Act while at the same time selling nearly $7 million in their personal holdings of NutriSystem stock. According to the complaint, during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements that misrepresented and/or failed to disclose: (a) that the Company had been signing up fewer new customers and was not performing according to internal expectations; (b) that the Company's costs of acquiring new customers were significantly increasing; and (c) that the Company's performance had been negatively impacted by competition from other weight loss products on the market. As a result, the defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the Company and its prospects, which artificially inflated NutriSystem stock to Class Period highs exceeding $70 per share while the defendants unloaded nearly $7 million in NutriSystem stock.

After the markets closed on October 3, 2007, the Company announced its preliminary third quarter 2007 results and revised earnings guidance for the full year of 2007. In response to this announcement, the price of NutriSystem common stock fell $15.98 per share, or approximately 34%, to close at $31.59 per share, on extremely heavy trading volume.

If you are a member of the class, you may move the Court, through counsel of your choice, no later than December 10, 2007 to serve as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as lead plaintiff. If you have sustained losses on your purchases of NutriSystem publicly traded securities during the Class Period, please contact Klafter & Olsen LLP at http://www.klafterolsen.com or call us at 202/261-3553 for a more thorough explanation of the lead plaintiff selection process and the claims that can be asserted against NutriSystem.

Klafter & Olsen LLP has extensive expertise in prosecuting investor class actions involving financial fraud and has offices in Washington D.C. and New York. Please visit our website for more information about the Firm.

District Attorney Danny Porter of Gwinnett County said the $150,000 figure represented Taylor's earnings as a prostitute in 2006, when she received roughly $3,000 or more each week.

"In the end it was a hooker case," Porter said. "She was treated no differently than someone that was charged with the possession of cocaine and prostitution and didn't have a prior record. ... And the judge gave her a chance to straighten out her life. Whether she does, we'll see."

The case made national headlines because Taylor and another woman, Nicole Probert, were accused of running a brothel in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in metro Atlanta. Sugarloaf Country Club is home to some high-profile entertainers and athletes. Taylor's own celebrity status as a former Penthouse Pet of the Month and a stripper who went by the name of Melissa Wolf added to the media frenzy.

Probert has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial, as are several men authorities say were their customers.

Porter said Taylor's plea will likely bring a quick resolution of the other cases.

When asked whether Probert would accept a similar plea deal, her attorney Steve Sadow said, "The simple answer is no. My expectation is that the case can be resolved without a trial and without a guilty plea."

Max Richardson, Taylor's attorney, said Taylor plans to "get on with her new life" and hopes "she can sell real estate if she doesn't get blackballed by everybody.

News of Taylor's arrest sent shockwaves through the gated community and made national news.

Days after police arrested Taylor on Jan. 3, 2007, neighbors told reporters about loud parties and lewd behavior at Taylor's house. Yet they also said other neighbors sometimes threw loud parties.

"We've got athletes and rock singers, and on occasion they throw big parties; they tend to be loud," one neighbor, Richard Hassberger, told reporters then.

Soon, however, prosecutors painted a lurid portrait that detailed something very much out of the ordinary happening behind closed doors in Taylor's house.

Taylor was Penthouse Pet of the Month in 1985 and starred in several X-rated films. Probert performed as an adult entertainer under the name "Naughty Nikki." Together, authorities said, they charged clients $5,000 to $10,000 for sex in the country club home. Prosecutors also charged them with providing cocaine to some clients.

A Gwinnett County grand jury later indicted Taylor and Probert on drug, prostitution and racketeering charges. The charges said the women offered to perform sex acts as "a duo" on 12 occasions beginning in January 2006 but that the last four occasions were not completed because of the womens' arrest.

The case against Taylor took an unexpected turn about three weeks ago, on Sept. 21, when police in Duluth pulled over a car in which she was riding. Authorities said the car was weaving. They also said they found cocaine and prescription drugs; police charged her with three felony and one misdemeanor drug charges. Richardson, her attorney, said that the prescription drugs were prescribed for depression and related problems.

Up to that point, Taylor had been out of jail on bond, awaiting the resolution of the prostitution charges against her, but her arrest on Sept. 21 sent her to the Gwinnett County Jail with no bond allowed.

The prospect of remaining in jail until her trial on the prostitution and drug charges played a key role in Taylor's decision to plead guilty on Wednesday afternoon, her lawyer said. Now, he said, she's eager for a fresh start.

"We're just hoping somebody gives her a chance," he said.

Michael Devlin, 41, pleaded guilty to kidnapping, sexually assaulting and attempting to murder Shawn Hornbeck, and received multiple life sentences. He pleaded guilty Monday to kidnapping another boy, and is expected to enter more guilty pleas in other courts.

During Tuesday's hearing, Devlin — standing just feet away from Shawn's weeping parents — admitted in graphic detail how he abducted Shawn in 2002. He described the point at which the boy apparently turned from being an abduction victim to a captive forced to stay alive by following Devlin's horrific orders.

After Shawn was abducted at gunpoint while riding his bike in rural Washington County, Devlin took the then-11-year-old to his apartment in suburban St. Louis where he repeatedly sexually assaulted the boy. Days later, Devlin took Shawn back to rural Washington County in his pickup truck, apparently intent on killing him.

He said he pulled Shawn from his truck and began to strangle him. Shawn resisted.

"I attempted to kill (Shawn) and he talked me out of it," Devlin said.

Devlin stopped the choking, but then sexually assaulted the boy again. Prosecutors said it was at that point that Shawn told Devlin he would do whatever was asked of him in order to stay alive.

"This boy made this contract, this deal with the devil, only to survive," Washington County prosecutor John Rupp said.

Devlin kidnapped William "Ben" Ownby in January, and police who found Ben four days after he was taken were shocked to discover a 15-year-old Shawn in Devlin's apartment.

Devlin pleaded guilty Monday to one charge of child kidnapping and one charge of armed criminal action in Ben's abduction.

Prosecutors said the combined pleas mean Devlin will not be eligible for parole until he is more than 100 years old. He was sentenced to three life terms plus 60 years in prison Tuesday, in addition to a life sentence he received Monday.

Rupp said he was satisfied with the sentences Devlin received.

"You heard it from his own mouth. You've heard what kind of a monster he is," Rupp said after the hearing.

Devlin's defense attorneys and Shawn's parents declined to comment Tuesday. Devlin was expected to plead guilty later Tuesday in St. Louis County to 71 felony charges, including kidnapping and sexual assault, and was to appear in federal court in St. Louis by Wednesday.

Devlin's attorneys have said he accepted a plea deal after reviewing the massive body of evidence collected by state and federal authorities. The boys' families said they were relieved because the pleas will spare the teens from testifying and reliving the ordeal.

"Nothing good could have come from a trial," said defense attorney Michael Kielty. "The evidence ... is just absolutely overwhelming."

While it is The Associated Press' policy not to identify suspected victims of sexual abuse in most cases, the story of Shawn and Ben has been widely publicized and their names are well known.

A special tactical unit used explosives to enter the building shortly after midnight and shot John Ashley to death after he opened fire, police spokesman Sgt. Clifford Gatlin said. Autopsies were planned on the three victims, he said.

Police said Ashley repeatedly shot at them during the 10-hour standoff Thursday, and even shot at a remote-controlled police robot they sent inside. No officers were hurt.

"This is, it's a shock," Gatlin said. "It's big for us, because we know everybody."

Ashley, a retired city maintenance worker, was found in the back of the office, which was converted from a single-story house.

The two people police say he killed were found in the front of the building, where police rescued one of the three surviving victims Thursday afternoon. The other survivors escaped on their own.

Gatlin said investigators have learned the shooting was "a possible dispute over a divorce settlement," but that he had no further details.

He said investigators will need to speak with the three survivors to determine a motive, and at least two of them were seriously injured.

The shooting rampage near the Rapides Parish Courthouse astounded people who knew Ashley in Alexandria, a central Louisiana town of about 46,000.

A dopey MIT student's art stunt bombed big-time yesterday when she was arrested at gunpoint after wearing a phony bomb into an airport terminal.

Star Simpson was sporting a computer circuit board with flashing lights and wires - all, apparently, in the name of art - as she prepared to walk back inside a terminal at Boston's Logan Airport.

Simpson, who was carrying Play-Doh in her hands, ended up with submachine guns in her face after the boneheaded stunt.

"She said that it was a piece of art and she wanted to stand out on career day," State Police Maj. Scott Pare said.

The supposedly smart MIT student wore a wired black sweatshirt with the phrases "Socket to me" and "Course VI" written on the back.

"I'm shocked and appalled that somebody would wear this type of device to an airport," Pare said.

Simpson pleaded not guilty to disturbing the peace.

The 19-year-old sophomore from Hawaii first aroused suspicions when she approached an airport worker inside the terminal while wearing the bomblike device. When she walked outside, she was pounced on by police.

"She was immediately told to stop, to raise her hands and not to make any movement, so we could observe all her movements to see if she was trying to trip any type of device," Pare said. "Had she not followed the protocol, we might have used deadly force."

Simpson told police she was at the airport to pick up someone flying in from Oakland. "She did seem a bit upset that she was in custody," Pare said. "However, she was rational, and she did answer all questions as required."

It was the second stunt in recent months to shake Boston into high alert for fear of a terrorist attack. In January, bomb squads were set into action when dozens of battery-powered devices that turned out to be ads for the Cartoon Network were found around the city.