July 16, 1997

Girlfriend of jailed rap mogul robbed at gunpoint

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The girlfriend of rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was robbed at gunpoint after walking in on a burglary at the Woodland Hills home rented by the jailed Knight, police said Wednesday.

The woman and a female friend were locked in a bathroom by the gunman, who ransacked the home and fled early Tuesday with $50,000 in cash and jewelry, Detective Robert Johansen said.

The gunman remained at large, and police declined to release the woman's identity out of concern for her safety. Johansen said she is Knight's girlfriend and mother of his 18-month-old child. The child was not with the women at the time.

Knight, 31, is a co-founder of Death Row Records, considered one of the nation's top rap labels with records by such artists as Snoop Doggy Dogg and the late Tupac Shakur. Shakur was shot to death in Las Vegas in September while sitting in the passenger seat of Knight's car.

Since November, Knight has been in jail serving a nine-year prison sentence for violating probation for a 1992 assault. He is renting the two-story Woodland hills home where the crime occurred, Johansen said.

Neither victim recognized the suspect, but Johansen said he has spoken with the head of security at Death Row, who also will be investigating the matter.

"Whether or not the suspect had anything to do with the company or problems with it is hard to say," he said.

Greg Howard, a Death Row spokesman, said he didn't know anything about the burglary. A telephone message left for a Knight attorney wasn't immediately returned.

"It appears it may have been a burglary until they came home," Johansen said of the women. "There were pry marks on the rear door leading into the garage."

The victims, 18 and 20, returned home about 3:15 a.m. to discover the gunman in the upstairs bathroom, Johansen said.

When they reached the top of the stairwell, the man came out of the bathroom holding a semiautomatic handgun and ordered them to lie on the floor, Johansen said.

He removed jewelry from both victims, including a $10,000 ring and $2,000 necklace from Knight's girlfriend, then demanded a Rolex watch whose box had been left out in the open, Johansen said.

"Out of fear, the girls gave up property they were wearing as well as the jewelry in the bedroom," said Johansen, adding that neither was injured.

After locking the victims in the bathroom, the suspect fled either on foot or by car.