LOS ANGELES — Former rap mogul Marion \u201cSuge\u201d Knight’s girlfriend and a business partner have been charged with violating a court order by selling a video showing Knight running his truck into two men to celebrity news website TMZ for $55,000, prosecutors said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Knight’s girlfriend, Toilin Kelly, and Mark Blankenship were each charged with conspiracy to violate a court order, conspiracy to obstruct justice and conspiracy to commit grand theft, Los Angeles County prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
Kelly pleaded not guilty Wednesday; Blankenship has not yet been arraigned.<\/p>\n
Knight, a co-founder of Death Row Records, was arrested in 2015 after authorities said he ran over the two men outside of a burger stand in Compton.<\/p>\n
He has pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder charges and is awaiting trial. His lawyers have said he acted in self-defence and was fleeing armed attackers.<\/p>\n
A judge issued a protective order in the case, which barred all evidence, including the video, from being released publicly.<\/p>\n
About two weeks after the incident, Kelly and Blankenship began arranging the sale of the surveillance video to TMZ, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
\u201c’I can’t wait to get this video to you,\u201d’ Kelly said in a text message to a TMZ representative, according to court documents.<\/p>\n
After nearly a month, they settled for $55,000 and the video was posted on TMZ’s website several days later, the district attorney’s office said.<\/p>\n
Kelly’s attorney, Alan Eisner, said his client is presumed innocent and has faith that the justice system will exonerate her.<\/p>\n
Kelly, a business school graduate, looks forward to having her defence presented in court, he said.<\/p>\n
Authorities said a warrant has been issued for Blankenship’s arrest and it wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney who could comment.<\/p>\n
TMZ is not accused of any wrongdoing for purchasing the video. A representative for the celebrity news site did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
——<\/p>\n
Associated Press writer Brian Melley contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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