O.J. Simpson granted parole after serving nearly 9 years for armed robbery

After spending almost nine years in a Nevada state prison, O.J. Simpson was granted parole Thursday.

The 70-year-old former NFL star was serving a 33-year sentence for armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. He was expected to be given parole after keeping a clean record behind bars since being found guilty in October 2008.

Simpson's official release won't come until October, when he meets the mandatory minimum of nine years in prison.

The Hall of Fame running back was arrested in September 2007 after he and five men stole sports memorabilia from two dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room. Simpson claimed the memorabilia was originally stolen from him, but that argument didn't hold up in court.

After infamously being found not guilty in the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, in 1995, Simpson found himself in legal trouble several times before being incarcerated. Following the criminal trial, he lost a civil suit that ordered him to pay a total of $33.5 million to the families of Brown Simpson and Goldman, forcing him to auction off much of his own memorabilia to contribute to the damages. He also picked up charges for battery, auto-burglary, and speeding between 2000 and 2002, had the FBI and DEA raid his house in 2001, and lost a civil suit to DirecTV in 2005.