Former hip hop czar Marion “Suge” Knight and comedian Katt Williams have pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, regarding robbery charges filed against them.
According to a Billboard report, the two were charged with robbery after they allegedly took the professional camera of a celebrity photographer last year in Beverly Hills.
Suge Knight & Katt Williams to stand trial on charges they robbed a celebrity photographer. http://t.co/7NXHumI3Fk pic.twitter.com/3T6VfKT4sU
— The Insider (@TheInsider) October 14, 2015
Co-founder of the Death Row Records, Suge Knight reportedly took the camera from photographer Leslie Redden and made threats against her.
However, Knight’s attorney, Thomas Mesereau, said that the alleged threats were made to keep Redden from taking photos of his son. “The only evidence that exists is he didn’t want his son photographed,” he said. “Any father would have acted as he did.”
Redden recorded the verbal exchange between her and Knight, through a camera hanging from her neck. However, the report said that it did not capture the physical struggle between the two parties when the former rap mogul was allegedly taking her professional camera by force.
Two weeks ago, a judge determined that Knight and Williams needed to stand trial concerning the incident. They needed to re-enter their pleas before trial commences.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen has reprimanded Suge Knight, 50, after he held up a sign in court to greet his son on his birthday, and for the cameras to see. “If he does it again, I will shackle his hands to a chair,” the judge said.
During court hearings, Knight reportedly had several “medical episodes,” one of which involved him refusing to leave his cell. As a result, the judge signed an order to forcibly bring him to court in hearings. His attorney said that a few weeks before the altercation with Redden, Knight was wounded in a shooting incident. This was allegedly the reason for the medical episodes.
While the trial for the robbery case has yet to begin, the former record producer has been in prison since January with a $10 million bail following a murder case filed against him.
The former music executive allegedly ran over two men outside a burger stand in January. The first victim died, while the other, who was identified as an adviser for the film, Straight Outta Compton , sustained serious injuries following the incident.
In his defense, Knight’s lawyers said that he was “fleeing armed attackers” when he hit the victims.
Like the robbery case, Suge Knight has pleaded not guilty as well for the murder case. Judge Coen has scheduled a Dec. 11 court hearing for that case.
Knight has been an instrumental music executive in the rap scene that became very popular in the ’90s. His Death Row Records, which he co-founded with Dr. Dre and The D.O.C., featured artists like Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur, and Snoop Dogg, among others.
Unfortunately, the record label went bankrupt after he lost control of the company. If convicted of the murder case, Suge Knight could face life imprisonment due to previous convictions that include armed robbery and assault with a gun.
Meanwhile, Katt Williams is a comedian and has appeared in films such as First Sunday , and Friday After Next . He became popular as a standup comedian, but eventually became a rapper, actor, and voice artist as well.
Like Knight, Williams has been involved in various controversies and legal issues in the past, which showed his confrontational behavior through a series of arrests.
. @KattPackAllDay talks his arrest and what really went down. Hear his side of the story: http://t.co/f2ddO7H94R pic.twitter.com/73XGxuvYlV — VibeMagazine (@VibeMagazine) November 3, 2014
The next hearing for the robbery case will be on Nov. 30 to provide more details and evidence about the incident. However, no specific date has yet been set for trial.
[Image by Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images]
