- Title: USA-CRIME / KNIGHT Knight's bail set at $25 million; rap mogul collapses in court
- Date: 20th March 2015
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 20, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) MATTHEW FLETCHER, SUGE KNIGHT'S LAWYER, SAYING: "I challenge you guys this: find a child rapist who has a 25 million dollar bail. You can't. So they're taking the position that Suge Knight is worse than a person who sodomizes kids. That's literally it and I don't mean to be dramatic. It's really infuriating when the system is used like this." MATTHEW FLETCHER, SUGE KNIGHT'S LAWYER, SPEAKING WITH MEDIA VARIOUS OF COURTHOUSE
- Embargoed: 4th April 2015 13:00
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- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA54CAU1OY7YQ6RB6QUNNTB1QLY
- Story Text: A judge set bail on Friday (March 20) at $25 million for Suge Knight in a murder case, agreeing on the amount requested by prosecutors who had described the rap mogul in court papers as being "incapable of stopping his violent criminal behavior."
Knight is accused of running down two men with a pickup truck at a Los Angeles area burger stand on January 29, killing one of them, following an argument on the set of a commercial for the film "Straight Outta Compton."
The Death Row records co-founder had been held without bail on charges of murder, attempted murder and two counts of hit-and-run with an added allegation of committing a violent felony while free on bail in another case.
At a bail-review hearing, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ronald Coen also set a preliminary hearing for April 13.
"I challenge you guys this: find a child rapist who has a 25 million dollar bail," said Knight's lawyer Matthew Fletcher, after court. "You can't. So they're taking the position that Suge Knight is worse than a person who sodomizes kids. That's literally it and I don't mean to be dramatic. It's really infuriating when the system is used like this."
Knight, who has been taken to the hospital after several of his recent court appearances, collapsed following the hearing and was taken out of the courtroom on a gurney.
Knight has pleaded innocent.
Knight has previous convictions for assault with a deadly weapon and could face 25 years to life in prison under California's so-called three-strikes law if he is convicted at trial. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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