Suge Knight gets traffic fine in Las Vegas, still facing Calif. robbery charge
Marion “Suge” Knight, the rap mogul arrested in Las Vegas in connection with a California robbery, made a brief appearance in traffic court Thursday.
Metro picked up Knight Wednesday as a fugitive and also on a warrant for having a suspended license. He was near the Strip close to the intersection of Harmon Avenue and Koval Lane, Las Vegas police said.
Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joe Sciscento reduced the suspended license citation from June 2013 to a parking ticket, according to Knight’s lawyer, Robert DeMarco. The judge gave Knight 90 days to pay a $190 fine.
The hearing took place behind a closed partition in the basement of the Regional Justice Center.
Knight, a former UNLV football player, remained in the Clark County Detention Center and is expected to appear in court Monday for an extradition hearing.
Knight and comedian Micah “Katt” Williams are suspects in a Beverly Hills robbery, according to the Los Angeles district attorney’s office. Authorities in Southern California said the pair stole a camera from a paparazzo Sept. 5 outside a studio.
Beverly Hills police spokesman Lt. Lincoln Hoshino said the celebrity photographer, a woman, suffered minor injuries when the camera was stolen.
Knight had just been released from a hospital after being shot six times Aug. 24 at an MTV awards party in Los Angeles.
“He would have been in no physical shape to engage in the type of conduct he is accused of,” said his lawyer, Richard Schonfeld.
Knight was unaware that there was a warrant out for his arrest, Schonfeld said.
Knight, 49, and Williams, 43, face one count each of robbery. Knight could face 30 years to life in prison, if convicted, the Los Angeles DA’s office said, because of a prior assault conviction. Williams could face up to seven years behind bars.
Williams also was arrested Wednesday, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said. Police took him into custody outside a courthouse in Inglewood, Calif., where he was appearing in a separate assault case.
Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker.
