LAS VEGAS: O.J. Simpson will once again face a trial, this time on a dozen charges stemming from a Sept 13 hotel-room confrontation here that could send him to prison, possibly for life, if he is convicted.

Judge Joe M. Bonaventure Jr. of Clark County Justice Court ruled Wednesday that there was enough evidence to bind over for trial the armed robbery and kidnapping cases against Mr. Simpson, the former football star, whose murder trial in 1995 was one of the most-watched legal cases in American history.

"The ultimate determination of credibility of the witnesses should be left to the jury," Judge Bonaventure said. "I cannot make a determination that the credibility of the witnesses was so incredible and so fantastical to dismiss the charges at this time."

Mr. Simpson, who was acquitted of killing his ex-wife and her friend in the 1995 trial, is accused of storming a hotel room here with five acquaintances and departing with a trove of memorabilia including a number of items related to his pro football career.

Two men who accompanied Mr. Simpson, Charles Ehrlich and Clarence Stewart, were also ordered to stand trial, and all three could face up to life in prison if convicted of the kidnapping charge. Three other men with Mr. Simpson made plea deals in October and testified against the three defendants during the preliminary hearing.

Mr. Simpson's lawyers took the judge's decision on a trial in stride, saying that they had expected the ruling, but that the lengthy hearing had been useful for the opportunity to cross-examine prosecution witnesses.

"I have never been in a case where every witness has been some financial incentive, every witness is made out to be a liar," said one of Mr. Simpson's lawyers, Yale Galanter, who vowed that Mr. Simpson would not accept a plea bargain. "The only thing I regret is that we didn't have a jury seated right now to hear the testimony we just heard," he said at a news conference after the hearing.

Mr. Simpson agreed. "If I have any disappointment, it's that I wish a jury was here," he told The Associated Press before he left the courtroom. "As always, I rely on the jury system."

Mr. Robert Lucherini, a lawyer for Mr. Stewart, said he might seek to get a his client tried separate from Mr. Simpson. But when asked whether Mr. Simpson would be called to testify, he replied: "After Mr. Simpson is acquitted and found not guilty, ask me that question again"

Mr. Galanter asserted that Mr. Simpson's conduct on Sept. 13 was "completely, totally and 100 percent lawful." When asked if that conduct was smart, Mr. Galanter grinned and repeated "lawful."

Prosecutors declined to comment following the hearing.

John Moran Jr., who represents suspect Charles Ehrlich, did not appear at the post-hearing news conference.

The three suspects are scheduled to enter their pleas on Nov. 28, with a trial likely in late 2008.

Mr. Simpson and the group of men entered a room at the Palace Station Hotel-Casino on Sept. 13 and left with pillowcases and boxes full of memorabilia that included a number of Simpson items but also hundreds of pieces related to the sports careers of the football great Joe Montana and the baseball stars Pete Rose and Duke Snider.

Mr. Simpson has said he only wanted his own items, which he said were stolen, and that he expected the collection found in the room to also include personal family photos and other heirlooms, although that turned out to not be the case.

The hearing before Judge Bonaventure has been a lengthy mini-trial in which the prosecutors put eight witnesses on the stand to prove they have enough evidence to go to trial. The final witness, a California memorabilia dealer, Alfred Beardsley, finished at midmorning after combative testimony that threw into question some events that led to the Sept. 13 incident.

Mr. Beardsley, 46, denied earlier testimony that he instigated the sale of the Simpson items on behalf of Bruce Fromong, a North Las Vegas memorabilia dealer, through an auction house owner, Thomas Riccio. Mr. Riccio told the court last week that Mr. Beardsley approached him to try to help Mr. Fromong sell the items, which included a number of trophies and footballs once belonging to Mr. Simpson as well as some clothes he wore at the 1995 trial on charges he murdered his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald L. Goldman.

Mr. Riccio testified he told Mr. Fromong and Mr. Beardsley that he had a wealthy buyer for the items to get them to set up the items so Mr. Simpson could come and take them back. Mr. Simpson insists the items were originally stolen from him and he came to the meeting to retrieve his belongings. Mr. Riccio is not a defendant.

Mr. Beardsley said of Mr. Riccio that he "is a man driven by money and he wants to set Mr. Simpson up and myself.

Mr. Beardsley placed a 911 call after the incident telling the dispatcher he had been robbed by Mr. Simpson at gunpoint. He testified Wednesday that this was not exactly accurate because Mr. Simpson himself did not carry a gun.

Mr. Beardsley, who is serving time in a California jail after violating probation by being in Nevada during the Sept. 13 incident, was brought to Las Vegas for the hearing. Defense attorneys worked to discredit him based on that prior conviction on stalking charges and by questioning his alleged history of hearing voices. Mr. Beardsley denied having any psychological issues or taking any psychotropic medication.

He also acknowledged he admires Mr. Simpson and didn't want to testify against him, even exchanging smiles with the football star when the prosecutor, David Roger, asked him to identify Mr. Simpson in the courtroom.

Much of the four days of testimony centered around two major questions: whether the memorabilia Mr. Fromong had was stolen from Mr. Simpson and whether Mr. Simpson knew two companions brought and brandished firearms during the raid.

"There has been no showing by the state that there was anything other than the intent by Mr. Simpson to recover property that he reasonably believed was his own property," Mr. Simpson's lawyer, Gabriel Grasso, argued to the judge arguments for the charges to be dismissed. Those arguments failed.

Yet Walter Alexander, a one-time Simpson golfing buddy who carried a gun in the incident and testified against Mr. Simpson, told the court on Tuesday that Mr. Simpson had instructed him to have his gun out when they entered the room to meet Mr. Beardsley and Mr. Fromong.

The other man with a gun, Michael McClinton, said on Tuesday that Mr. Simpson asked to see his concealed weapon permit prior to the incident. Mr. McClinton also took a plea deal to testify against Mr. Simpson.

Other witnesses, including Mr. Riccio, said last week that it was possible Mr. Simpson never knew about the guns.

On Wednesday, Mr. Beardsley conceded his recollections of the incident could be unclear. When asked by Mr. Simpson's attorney lawyer, Yale Galanter, whether his memory was unreliable, Mr. Beardsley said, "Possibly, yes." He added that it could be because "I'm tired and stressed from this entire situation."

On the question of who the rightful owner of the Simpson items were, Mr. Beardsley testified that many of the items came into the possession of others when someone named Neil bought the contents of a storage unit that was auctioned off after Mr. Simpson failed to pay the fees on it.

Following Mr. Beardsley, lawyers for Mr. Simpson, Mr. Ehrlich and Mr. Stewart argued that the state's witnesses were not credible and that the hotel incident did not meet the legal standards for armed robbery or kidnapping.

Noting that the non-Simpson items taken in the incident include some minor things, Mr. Ehrlich's lawyer, John Moran Jr. questioned the entire premise of the indictments.

Mr. Moran bellowed: "Sunglasses? Hats? Cell phones? 12 counts over that? What are we doing here?"

More O.J. Pieces by Steve Friess