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Photos: Suge Knight Collapses In Court After Bail Is Set At $25 Million
During his bail review hearing today, Suge Knight found out that if he wants to get out of jail, he'll need $25 million to pass go. And then he collapsed.
Variety reports, "Los Angeles judge Ronald S. Coen has sided with the prosecution and set rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight’s bail for $25 million."
Knight has been in custody since late January after turning himself in for fatally striking a man and injuring another with his car on the set of the upcoming N.W.A. biopic, Straight Outta Compton. Knight faces charges of murder and attempted murder.
Suge Knight in court on March 9, 2015 (Getty Images)
Graphic video shows the incident that occurred on January 29. Prosecutors had argued the high bail amount, noting that Knight is a "prolific and unrepentant criminal" and his "shameless life of crime." From the LA Times:
To back up the claim, Deputy Dist. Atty. Cynthia J. Barnes documented the Death Row Records cofounder’s extensive brushes with the law in nearly 300 pages of written arguments and supporting evidence, including more than two dozen police reports and an affidavit that implicate Knight in robberies, extortion, money laundering, assaults, witness intimidation and battery. Among the revelations from the court documents:
—Knight is suspected of extorting “taxes” from rappers and athletes who want to work in Los Angeles or Las Vegas, according to a sworn affidavit submitted by Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Richard Biddle.
—Knight and a woman in Las Vegas are also involved in laundering more than $10 million since 2002 through a network of bank accounts, according to Biddle.
—In 2014, a man told the LAPD that Knight held him at gunpoint for about 10 minutes in an alleyway and repeatedly vowed to kill him, according to a police report.
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Court officers attending to Knight on March 20, 2015 (Getty Images)
NBC Los Angeles reports, "Knight collapsed inside the courtroom moments after the hearing. Paramedics arrived at the courthouse, but details regarding Knight's condition were not immediately available. The judge closed the courtroom after Knight's collapse... Knight missed an inmate transport bus from jail to the courthouse, delaying proceedings Friday morning. After he arrived for the morning hearing, a judge set bail and ruled that Knight also must prove that any money used to pay for bail came from legitimate sources."
Update: NBC Los Angeles updated with video of court officers attending to Knight. His attorney said, "He was dripping sweat, like someone poured a bucket of water on him. He wiped the sweat off his head and said, 'I haven't had my medication.'"
However a prosecutor said Knight "did it in front of the cameras."
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