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Two Of Suge Knight's Former Lawyers Arrested On Accessory Charge
One of them is being held on $1 million bail.
Two of Suge Knight's former attorneys were arrested earlier this week, multiple news sources confirm.
Matthew Fletcher and Thaddeus Culpepper, both of whom worked for Knight on his ongoing murder case, were arrested on Thursday on warrants alleging that they were accessories after the fact to a felony, The Los Angeles Times reports.
In August, prosecutors accused Fletcher and Culpepper — along with Knight's fiancée Toi-Lin Kelly and his business partner Mark Blankenship — of attempting to orchestrate witness bribery ahead of Knight's trial for the murder of Terry Carter, Rolling Stone reports.
Prosecutors made their claims in a 22-page court filing, citing transcripts of recorded conversations that seem to suggest that Culpepper and Fletcher not only discussed fabricating testimonies, but aided Knight in his efforts to pay off potential witnesses, says ABC News. Culpepper and Fletcher both denied the allegations, with Fletcher telling the New York Daily News that the recorded conversations were about efforts to acquire a second video showing Knight's confrontation with Carter on the day he was killed.
"I've never paid anyone, period, end of story," Fletcher said. "As far as I know, [witnesses] haven't been paid by anyone. I don't believe Suge Knight has the money to pay anyone."
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Nicole Nishida declined to comment on whether or not Fletcher or Culpepper's recent arrests have anything to do with Knight's legal battle. Fletcher, after being taken into custody at the Long Beach courthouse around 2 p.m., is being held on $1 million bail, and while Nishida confirmed to The Los Angeles Times that Culpepper was arrested at his home around 5 p.m., no information about Culpepper's bail has been listed, says ABC.
Both men were representing Knight until the rap mogul replaced them in September. Knight has pleaded not guilty, and claims that he acted in self-defense when he ran over Carter and another man, Cle "Bone" Sloan, in the parking lot of a Compton burger stand in 2015. Knight says he was attempting to flee an armed assault at the time, the Daily News reports. Sloan, with whom Knight had argued earlier that day, was hospitalized but survived the encounter.
Knight is expected to stand trial later this year.
[Photo: Getty Images]
