By Robert Macy
Claims by rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight that
a Metro Police detective lied about an interview with a suspect in Tupac
Shakur's murder is nothing more than legal maneuvering by Knight's
attorneys, a police official said.
"This is just Marion Knight's lawyers doing what they're paid
to do, get Marion Knight out of jail," Metro
homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen said. "This is just legal
maneuvering by the attorneys. That's what attorneys get paid for."
Attorneys for Knight filed a motion in Superior Court in Los
Angeles on Friday, asking that charges of probation violation by
Knight be thrown out. The motion contends that Metro Detective Brent
Becker lied about an interview with Orlando Anderson, who has been
identified as a possible suspect in Shakur's killing.
Shakur was shot on Flamingo Road near the Las Vegas Strip on Sept. 7 while
riding in a car driven by Knight. Shakur died six days later at University
Medical Center.
A gang of men including Knight, Shakur and others from Knight's
Death Row Records company had allegedly beaten up Anderson in a
fight at the MGM Grand hotel-casino before the shooting.
Knight's probation on an assault conviction was revoked over the
MGM incident, and he faces up to nine years in prison. His lawyers
contend the ruling relied on perjured testimony by Becker at a
hearing in November.
According to an affidavit prepared by Compton, Calif., police to get
search warrants for a gang sweep in Southern California, Becker
knew by Sept. 16 that police in Compton and Las Vegas had received
numerous tips that Anderson was responsible for Shakur's shooting.
Becker testified that he only wanted to talk to Anderson about
the MGM beating, and that Anderson wasn't a suspect in the murder.
However, Anderson's attorneys and Los Angeles police
sources told the Los Angeles Times otherwise. Becker told Anderson
on Oct. 2 that he was a suspect in Shakur's shooting, the paper
reported Monday.
Petersen denied Becker had told Anderson he was a suspect.
"When he went to Los Angeles to talk to Anderson, he only asked
Anderson questions about the fight at the MGM," Petersen said.
"He never asked him about the homicide. If he would have asked him
questions about the homicide, he would have read him his Miranda
rights.
"Anderson asked Becker if he was going to take him back to Las
Vegas, and Becker's response was 'Why should I?'"
Informants reported that Anderson got out of a Cadillac, yelled
at Shakur, then fired about a dozen rounds into the BMW Knight was
driving before the Cadillac sped away, the affidavit said.
Petersen called that account incorrect, reiterating claims that it
was a drive-by shooting.
"No one else has said anything about (the assailant) getting
out of the suspect vehicle," Petersen said. "That is obviously
incorrect, completely contrary to what all of the eyewitnesses
said."
Police have interviewed dozens of witnesses, including many
members of the rap star's entourage, but have failed to come up
with solid leads that could result in an arrest.
Petersen discounted any problems between the Las Vegas and
Compton departments.
"We have had a lot of cooperation and received a lot of
information from them," he said.
The information in the police affidavit is unsubstantiated and
unconfirmed, and comes from informants who provide no proof for a
criminal case, Petersen said.
Asked if Anderson was a suspect in the Shakur shooting, Petersen
replied:
"We're not ruling anybody out at this time, but for us to say
he's the only suspect is incorrect. There are people out there who
believe Marion Knight is a suspect."
In a television show last week, Shakur's mother, Afeni Shakur,
suggested Knight and Death Row cheated her son out of earnings from
his records.
Knight, 31, is in jail awaiting a Feb. 28 hearing on the
probation violation. Death Row produced the No. 1 album in the
nation this week, the soundtrack to the movie "Gridlock'd,"
featuring songs by Shakur, among others.
Metro Police say they have been stymied in the shooting
because Knight and his entourage refuse to cooperate. Unless a
witness comes forward, they say they will be unlikely to make an
arrest.
February 11, 1997
Cops: Knight just filing
legal moves
ASSOCIATED PRESS