Suge Knight is no stranger to controversy, but this time, Katt Williams is in the mix. The former Death Row Records mogul was in court yesterday when Los Angeles judge, Ronald Coen, granted the defense’s request to push back a hearing by the prosecution detailing new evidence, which will further delay the robbery case against Knight and the comedian. Knight appeared at the hearing on Thursday (Oct. 17) but had nothing to say as he silently sat beside his lawyer. His attorneys did not want him to speak in court due to fears that he might further incriminate himself.
Suge Knight and Katt Williams have been charged with lifting celebrity photographer Leslie Redden’s camera in September 2014 in addition to attacking her. Both celebrities have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them, but L.A. Judge Haim ruled that they would not delay the civil suit for damages in the paparazzi incident until Knight’s other cases were resolved. Redden’s representation subsequently agreed not to put his Fifth Amendment rights in jeopardy and he will not speak on his behalf in court until the matter is resolved.
The notoriously scary music industry figure is also charged with murder in a separate case where that hearing was also postponed. the trial, which was scheduled to begin over the summer, went on hiatus instead. Knight will potentially face life sentences if he is convicted due to his older convictions for both armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
Thus far, Knight has pleaded not guilty to every charge against him, including murder, attempted-murder and hit and run charges when he ran over and killed a man near a burger stand in East Compton in July. His legal representation has said that he was trying to escape armed attackers when he ran over victim Terry Carter (who died) and an advisor to the recent feature film, Straight Outta Compton — Cle “Boan” Sloan. Despite his silence, this hearing went better than the $25 million dollar bail hearing he collapsed at back in March.
As most know, Suge Knight was an infamous figure in the “gangsta rap” scene of the ’90s and the co-founder of the label that fostered talents Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg until he lost control of the company when it was pushed into bankruptcy.
