A lawyer for rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight said she has statements from eight witnesses that the rap mogul did not punch a parking valet, an incident that could return him to prison. “Unfortunately for Mr. Knight, it appears that he was arrested prior to a full investigation of the allegation,” attorney Rose Kogeman said yesterday (July 2).
Kogeman said it was another patron, whom she did not identify, who got angry and shoved the valet while waiting for a vehicle.
Knight, 37, was arrested last weekend for allegedly punching the attendant. Parole officials say they will ask the California Board of Prison Terms to determine if Knight violated conditions of his parole. Revocation of parole could lead to as much as a one-year prison term.
The witness statements will be considered during an as yet unscheduled administrative hearing when Knight will have a chance to offer his defense, officials said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections said being taken into custody for a suspected parole violation is different than a regular arrest, because parolees are technically still in the custody of the state. “If we have reasonable suspicions that someone has violated parole, we’ll take then back into custody and let the Board of Prison Terms adjudicate,” the spokesperson said.
Knight, who founded Death Row Records, was convicted in 1992 of assault and weapons violations and was placed on probation. In 1996, he was jailed for five years for violating probation after he and several associates, including rap star Tupac Shakur, were recorded on videotape beating a gang rival in the lobby of a Las Vegas hotel. Shakur was later fatally shot in Las Vegas.
Knight spent 61 days in jail earlier this year after authorities found that he had associated with a known gang member in violation of his probation. 
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