Former Death Row Boss Suge Knight Arrested on Gun Charge
Former Death Row Records boss Marion “Suge” Knight was arrested and detained early this morning after allegedly brandishing a firearm during a robbery late last night in South Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reports. Knight was pulled over in his white Escalade just past midnight. According to TMZ, he has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and has been released on $65,000 bail. Knight was also charged with driving with a suspended license.
Knight was arrested in 1992 and sentenced to seven years probation for assault charges. He violated parole and served four years from 1997 to 2001, and was behind bars again in 2003 after attacking a parking lot attendant. Knight was also arrested in August 2008 on drug and assault charges stemming from an incident with his girlfriend, but he was later cleared of all related charges. In February 2009, Knight was badly beaten at an NBA All-Star Game party by a man claiming to be Akon’s business manager. A month later, Akon’s producer Noel “Detail” Fisher was robbed as rumored retribution; while Knight was implicated in the robbery, he was never charged.
Knight was once the head of Death Row Records, the famed West Coast rap label that brought the music world Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle and Tupac Shakur’s All Eyez on Me. Internal struggles, Shakur’s death and Knight’s legal difficulties all contributed to the label’s decline. Knight finally sold his stake in the company in 2006 after filing for bankruptcy.