OJ Simpson wakes up this morning in the very place where most Americans think he should have been spent the last 13 years: behind bars.

The former sports star’s long descent from public hero to national disgrace took a sudden downward turn late on Friday, when a jury in Las Vegas found him guilty of 12 charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery, related to an incident in a hotel last September.

Simpson exhaled deeply and nodded as the unanimous verdict was read out in a small upstairs room at the city’s Regional Justice Centre. He was denied bail before being handcuffed and taken into custody for what could end up being the rest of his life. Sentencing was scheduled for 5 December. As Simpson was led away, his sister, Carmelita Durio, broke down in tears. A friend, Tom Scotto said, “I love you, man” as he passed.

The jury of nine men and three women decided after 13 continuous hours of deliberations that both Simpson and his co-defendant, Clarence “CJ” Stewart, had kidnapped two sports memorabilia dealers and held them hostage at the Palace Station hotel and casino on 13 September last year. They were accused of leading a gang of six men to the room in the early hours of the morning to retrieve a selection of American footballs, trophies and signed photos. Prosecutors said two of the men were armed. One accomplice testified that Simpson asked him to bring a gun and look “menacing”.

To many, the outcome of the four-week trial represents a case of proxy justice for Simpson’s alleged role in the frenzied 1994 murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. The following year the former American football star, who had later become a prominent Hollywood actor, was sensationally acquitted of the double killing in what subsequently became known as the “trial of the century”. However he was later found liable for the couple’s deaths in a civil case and forced to declare himself bankrupt and retire to Florida, where state law protected his $20,000 a month pension from being seized by creditors.

Simpson’s failure to shake off his enduring notoriety has left many wondering if he is capable of receiving fair treatment from a US jury. His attorney, Yale Galanter, said following the verdict: “I can tell you from the beginning my biggest concern ... was whether or not the jury would be able to separate their very strong feelings about Mr Simpson and judge him fairly and honestly.” Key elements of the prosecution case have also sparked renewed debate about celebrity justice. It relied on secret tape recordings of the hotel room encounter made by some of the mostly-dubious characters who were there, and who subsequently sold them to the media for six-figure sums.

Simpson also argued that the incident was not a robbery but an attempt to reclaim items that the memorabilia dealers, Bruce Fromong and Alfred Bearrdsley, had stolen from him. He insisted that he never asked anyone to bring a weapon to the Palace Station, and was unaware that there were guns involved. The “stolen” memorabilia, he claimed, had been earmarked to help finance his children’s college education.

However, his case was at odds with the law, which says it is a crime to take something by force, regardless of who it belongs to. It was also compromised by the recording, which appeared to show him orchestrating a violent stick-up. Simpson, who did not testify, was heard screaming that the dealers had stolen his property. He announced “Don’t let nobody out of this room,” before ordering his accomplices to collect the various items of memorabila.

Combined with the tariffs for the 10 other charges he was found guilty of, Simpson, now 62, knows he can expect to spend the rest of his days in prison.