‘Suge’ Knight to Appear Before Parole Board

The California Board of Prison Terms will decide the fate of music executive Marion “Suge” Knight today at a hearing that could send the gangsta rap impresario back to prison for a year.

Knight’s hearing is set this morning at County Jail in downtown Los Angeles, where he has been detained since Dec. 23 for allegedly violating his parole by associating with gang members. Knight was taken into custody a few weeks after sheriff’s deputies raided his homes and businesses, collecting evidence of alleged parole violations.

The board denied a request Monday by Knight’s attorney, David Z. Chesnoff, to attend the proceedings, where a panel of three deputy commissioners will review evidence and interview Knight before issuing a ruling.

“This is very unfair,” Chesnoff said. “Since the day this guy got back on the streets, a double standard has been applied to him with respect to his parole conditions. They treat him like he’s Public Enemy No. 1.”

Bill Sessa, a Board of Prison Terms spokesman, said the board typically bars lawyers from parole revocation hearings, thousands of which are convened each year.

“This is not a trial and Mr. Knight is not entitled to an attorney,” Sessa said. “All parolees are in the custody of the state. If they break the conditions of their parole, they go back to prison.”

Under the conditions of his parole, Knight is not allowed to associate with gang members. Authorities say Knight violated those conditions by employing gang members who police believe are connected to a series of recent shootings.

In a jailhouse interview Thursday, Knight denied allegations of involvement with gang members, except in the course of music label business.

Knight built his company, now called Tha Row, by employing ex-cons from his hometown of Compton. Chesnoff said his law firm consulted the parole office after Knight’s release from prison in 2001 and was assured that hiring former gang members did not pose a problem -- as long as he didn’t hang out with them after work.

“I met personally with the parole people on Suge’s behalf and they told me they understood there would be circumstances, based on the kind of rap music genre that he was involved in, where he might come into contact with people that they think have gang affiliations,” Chesnoff said. “They said that as long as he wasn’t involved in street activity, they didn’t have a problem. Then, all of a sudden, they turn around and violate him for associating with his own employees. It’s insane.”

On Monday, authorities arrested one of those employees, Timothy “Timmy Roo” McDonald, on an attempted-murder charge. McDonald is the third employee of Knight’s company to be arrested in connection with a string of recent shootings, including at least one homicide.

Authorities allege that Knight also violated his parole conditions by attending social events with known gang members -- and plan to introduce photographs of Knight and his employees making gang signs as evidence at today’s hearing.

Chesnoff said the photos were taken at a concert by a professional photographer hired by Knight. He said Knight paid thousands of dollars for the photos, which were primarily for a music video featuring rappers making West Coast hand signs.

The photographer who took the pictures is expected to testify on Knight’s behalf by producing receipts at today’s hearing.

“What they have put together here is an incredible collection of overreaching information that does not even amount to a technical violation, let alone anything substantive,” Chesnoff said. “Why can’t they just leave this guy alone?”