Rap Mogul Suge Knight Arrested, Charged With Robbery; Faces 30 Years to Life in Prison for Stealing Photog’s Camera
Music producer and rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight along with comedian Micah "Katt" Williams were arrested on Wednesday and booked on robbery charges, stemming from the alleged theft of a photographer's camera in early September.
If convicted, Knight faces anywhere from 30 years in prison to a life prison term due to a prior conviction of assault with a deadly weapon. Williams may face up to seven years behind bars for his role in the robbery, according to an official statement issued by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
The New York Daily News reports that the alleged robbery went down on Sept. 5 in Beverly Hills, Calif. The incident reportedly involved Knight, Williams and alleged victim Leslie Redden, a celebrity photographer.
According to a police source, the robbery took place on North Canon Drive, outside of a building that houses a television studio called FilmOn, which was founded by one Aiki David. According to David, however, it was Redden, not Knight and Williams that started the alleged "spat."
"Katt was attacked by a mad woman with a camera," David told the New York Daily News. "A girlfriend of Katt's quite rightly defended him, but there was no actual altercation."
However, the celebrity duo did reportedly take a camera from Redden's possession and, as such, were arrested on Wednesday on "suspicion of steaming a camera from a female photographer," the Los Angeles County District Attorney said.
Knight was Arrested in Las Vegas "without incident" and Williams was taken into custody at a court in Inglewood, Calif., where he was facing arraignment for a prior unrelated offense. Both Knight and Williams were officially charged with one count each of robbery. Prosecutors will reportedly ask for Knight's bail to be set at $1 million and Williams' bail to be set at $75,000.
The case remains under investigation by the Beverly Hill Police Department.
According to a report from NBC News, Wednesday's charge is the most recent in a long string of Knight's "run-ins with the law" that date back to the 1990's.
In 1997 Knight was sentenced to a nine year prison stint for violation probation after a prior assault, though he served only four years of that sentence before being released.
Several years later, in 2003, Knight was jailed again for parole violation after reportedly assaulting a parking lot attendant. In 2008 the hip hop mogul was arrested on suspicion of drug possession and aggravated assault. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and the judge in that case went on to dismiss several felony charges related to said case, including drug charges and coercion.
Knight most recently made headlines in August of this year when he was shot six times outside of a party that had been thrown for the Video Music Awards (VMA's).
The New York Daily News reports that Knight was the intended target in the shooting, although its been alleged that Williams had suggested to police officials that Knight "stepped into harm's way" to protect somebody else. Knight has refused thus far to cooperate with investigators on the case.
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