Suge Knight questioned after hit-and-run death

In November Knight, who owns Death Row Records, pleaded “not guilty” to a criminal charge stemming from accusations that he stole a camera from a celebrity photographer outside a Beverly Hills studio. He was later released on bail.

A few months earlier, Knight was shot and wounded inside a packed West Hollywood nightclub along with two others during a party in advance of the MTV Music Video Awards.

Hip-hop empire

Knight is well-known for glamorising gangs through ferocious lyrics – and even his “electric chair” company logo. Death Row Records was a leading rap label in the 1990s, featuring artists such as Dr Dre, Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.

But his hip-hop empire declined after he went to prison for a parole violation, Tupac Shakur was murdered and Dr Dre left Death Row Records.

The Los Angeles Police Department says violence in the city is worsening, with a 17.6 per cent increase last year in gang-related crime, according to its latest figures.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said: “This is a snapshot of last year, but when you overlay it with all the years prior, you begin to seen some things that are past trends.

“They are just the nature of homicide in Los Angeles.”