A security videotape shows Marion “Suge” Knight didn’t punch a parking attendant outside a Hollywood nightclub, the rap impresario’s attorney said. Attorney Rose Kogeman said the tape and the unidentified victim refute accounts by police and state parole officials that the 37-year-old founder of Death Row Records punched the attendant in the face from behind last month. The label is now known as Tha Row.
Police said Knight apparently was unhappy about where his car had been parked outside the White Lotus Club. He could face up to a year behind bars if prison officials determine he violated his parole terms.
Kogeman said her office presented the videotape to parole officials. She also said the alleged victim says Knight didn’t assault him. “He could see Mr. Knight in front of him when the guy punched him from the back. The video does show a guy walking up behind the valet,” Kogeman told the Los Angeles Times.
A Department of Corrections spokesperson said, “Mr. Knight has the right to a Board of Prison Terms revocation hearing, where both sides will be heard.”
Knight, who was convicted in 1992 of assault and weapons violations, was sentenced to probation. He was sent to jail for five years for violating that probation in 1996 after a scuffle in the lobby of a Las Vegas hotel. Earlier this year, Knight spent 61 days in jail after authorities found he’d associated with a known gang member in violation of his prison parole.
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