Instead of ringing in the New Year with his family, Suge Knight welcomed 2016 at the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles, which in his lawyer’s opinion, is an injustice.
“He shouldn’t be there,” Thomas Mesereau told TheWrap. “He’s in county jail, it’s the worst jail in the country.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which runs the facility, did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment, but Mesereau had plenty to say.
“He should be at home and he should have been granted reasonable bail, like everybody else,” the criminal defense lawyer complained. “This case is going forward because of who he is, not because of anything he did that was wrong.”
Knight has been locked up since Jan. 30, 2015, when he surrendered to face charges in connection with a fatal hit-and-run. Prosecutors say on Jan. 29, he plowed his truck into two men after an argument on the set of a promo shoot for “Straight Outta Compton,” then fled the scene.
Terry Carter, 55, was killed and Cle “Bone” Sloan, 51, was injured.
Knight, 50, says he was defending himself and has pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder charges.
In late March, as his bail was set at $25 million, the Death Row Records co-founder collapsed in court. Knight’s then-lawyer, Matthew Fletcher, went on a tirade about the L.A. County jail system, claiming Knight was being treated worse than the U.S. detainees at Guantanamo Bay. In his words, the conditions under which Knight was being detained “truly should shock people.”
Mesereau, who represented Michael Jackson during the singer’s 2005 child molestation trial, was brought in to defend Knight after the fallen music mogul parted ways with three other attorneys handling his case, including Fletcher, James Blatt and David Kenner.
Knight’s bail has been reduced to $10.5 million, which he still hasn’t been able to make.
“The bail was set too high, in my opinion,” Mesereau said about the lower bail amount. “He’s a person of character and courage and fortitude, and he looks forward to his day in court.”
The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office told TheWrap it had “no comment” about Mesereau’s complaints.
Knight’s trial date will be set at a hearing on Feb. 26.
9 Infamous Hollywood Murders, From Black Dahlia to Sharon Tate (Photos)
TheWrap takes a look back at some of the grisliest killings in L.A. history
1947: The brutal murder of Elizabeth Short, a 22-year-old woman nicknamed "Black Dahlia," remains one of Hollywood's most grisly unsolved crimes and has since sparked numerous TV, film and literary adaptations.
Santa Barbara Police Department
1969: Charles Manson, leader of the so-called "Manson Family," ordered the deaths of actress Sharon Tate; writer Wojciech Frykowski and his partner, the coffee bean heiress Abigail Folger; and celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring and several friends at the Beverly Hills home of director Roman Polanski.
ABC News
Red Lion/20th Century Fox
1976: Sal Mineo, the star of "Rebel Without a Cause," was stabbed to death near the Sunset Strip. Pizza deliveryman Lionel Ray Williams was later arrested and convicted of the murder.
ABC Network
1978: The "Hogan's Heroes" star Bob Crane was found bludgeoned to death in his Arizona apartment. John Henry Carpenter was arrested and charged with the murder in 1992.
CBS
1994: Former NFL star O.J. Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman were found stabbed to death at her Brentwood home. The former football star-turned-actor was arrested and charged with the double homicide but found not guilty in a notorious trial.
YouTube
1998: "Saturday Night Live" star Phil Hartman was shot and killed in his sleep in his Encino home by his wife, Brynn Omdahl, who then turned the gun on herself.
NBC
2003: Phil Spector, a music producer famed for his so-called Wall of Sound, was convicted in 2009 of the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson in his own home.
BBC Arena
Investigation Discovery
2010: The celebrated publicist Ronni Chasen was killed in an apparent robbery while driving home from the premiere of the Cher movie "Burlesque." The man who is believed by police to have killed her has since committed suicide.
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2012: Nearly a year after his disappearance, former Fox executive Gavin Smith's car was found at a Simi Valley storage facility that was connected to John Creech, and Smith’s remains were discovered in a shallow grave in the Angeles National Forest. Creech was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
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TheWrap takes a look back at some of the grisliest killings in L.A. history
TheWrap takes a look back at some of the grisliest killings in L.A. history