Music Exec Faces Over 30 Years In Jail Over Robbery

A high profile music industry executive is facing the prospect of 30 years to life in jail following a criminal charge over a robbery.

Marion ‘Suge’ Knight is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records and is credited with breaking the careers of rap icons like Tupac, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg. According the the LA Times, Knight and comedian Micah ‘Katt’ Williams were both arrested earlier this week and charged with one count of robbery.

It has been alleged that, after emerging from a studio, on 5 September Knight and Williams chased a photographer down an alley and “forcibly” grabbed her camera.

Because of a previous criminal conviction of assault with a deadly weapon Knight could face 30 years to life imprisonment if convicted.

Knight’s lawyer told the New York Daily News, “I can tell you from the evidence I have seen, it doesn’t support the charge against Mr. Knight. [The alleged victim] didn’t mention Suge Knight doing anything to her in her statement to the police.”

The lawyer said that Knight was still recovering from gunshot wounds sustained at a party hosted by Chris Brown in August.

“Mr. Knight had been released from the hospital just seven days earlier. He was in no physical shape to do anything,” he said. “My understanding is that Mr. Knight wasn’t immediately present when the conduct occurred.”

In 1997 Knight was sentenced to nine years in prison for violating his probation from a previous assault case. Released in 2001, he returned to jail in 2003 after again violating parole. The initial incarceration is often cited as the beginning of the end for Death Row’s initial success.