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Authorities Raid Rap Record Company In Murder Investigation November 14, 2002 ABCNews.com Rap music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight's record company was raided by authorities Thursday as they served 17 warrants in two states related to several homicides and conspiracy to commit murder. "The kinds of people that we have warrants for are wanted for very serious crimes. There is some connection to Tha Row Records." said sheriff's deputy Darren Harris. Knight, who runs the record company formerly known as Death Row Records, was not considered a suspect in the investigation, said Los Angeles County sheriff's spokeswoman Alba Yates. However, he and his record label have been at the center of an East Coast-West Coast rap feud that police believe has led to the unsolved shooting deaths of two major stars over the past six years. Knight was riding with Shakur in a car after attending a 1996 Mike Tyson fight at a Las Vegas hotel when another vehicle pulled alongside and someone opened fire, killing Shakur. Knight has said he couldn't see who fired the shots. The Notorious B.I.G., 24, was killed in March 1997 while sitting in his car outside a party celebrating the Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles. B.I.G. and Shakur, once close friends, had been feuding for more than a year and had exchanged insults in recordings, at concerts and awards shows. Two other former associates of Knight have been shot to death this year. Alton McDonald, 37, a former Death Row Records production manager, was killed in April as he pumped gas at a Los Angeles service station, and 33-year-old Henry Smith, who designed the electric chair logo for the label, was killed as he sat in his parked SUV last month. No arrests have been made in any of those cases. In Thursday's raids, one person was arrested and several people were detained at the record headquarters in Beverly Hills, authorities said. Several other arrests were made but authorities wouldn't say at what locations. Asked if the raids had anything to do with the unsolved killings of rap stars Tupac Shakur or The Notorious B.I.G., authorities said they could not confirm what cases were involved. Knight was released from prison in August after serving five years for violating probation by getting into a fight hours before Shakur was shot to death. Authorities said search warrants also were being served in Compton, Long Beach, Malibu and Las Vegas. Attorney Arthur Barens, who represents Knight, said some of the places being searched were either past or present homes of the rap mogul. "We're not sure who the target is or what they're looking for," said Barens, who noted that Knight was willing to cooperate with authorities. Barens claimed law enforcement officials damaged the record label office when they stormed the building. Sheriff's deputies, including a SWAT team, surrounded the building that houses Tha Row Records about 5 a.m. Broken glass could be seen at the front of the building but it was not immediately known if it was related to the raid. "Until I have some reason to believe there was legitimacy to this, I consider this heavy-handed harassment," Barens said. In Las Vegas, police Sgt. Rick Barela said his department was releasing no information about the raids being conducted in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Authorities were still searching Knight's offices early Thursday. The streets around the company were closed during the morning rush hour. Billboards on top of the building advertise Tha Row releases, an album called "Say Hi to the Bad Guy," by the artist Crooked I with a drawing of a man sitting on a toilet. Adam Menken has lived next to the record company for six years in a neighborhood where homes cost as much as $600,000. "What goes on in there is so isolated that it's like a separate world," he said. "I find it an interesting and odd contrast between here (the neighborhood) and the rap record business. But I guess you can rent an office pretty much anywhere." News Topics | Home | Research | History | Blood Gangs | Crip Gangs | People| Life in a Gang | Gallery | Iraqi Cards | Memorial | Migration | Graffiti | Resume| Injunctions Homicides | Maps | California Prisons | Contact

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