Rap mogul 'Suge' Knight charged with assault

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rap music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was arrested on charges of assault and domestic violence on Wednesday after punching his girlfriend and pulling a knife on her during an argument, Las Vegas police said.

Knight, 43, co-founder of the rap label Death Row Records, also was charged with two drug offenses when he was found to be in possession of ecstasy and the prescription narcotic Hydrocodone, police said in a statement.

Police said Knight's girlfriend of three years, who was not identified in the statement, told officers that Knight punched her in the head during an argument while he was driving with her in an automobile.

In an effort to escape, the girlfriend grabbed the steering wheel causing the vehicle to hit a curb and come to an abrupt stop, then she fled with Knight in pursuit, police said.

When officers arrived on the scene, responding to a domestic violence call, they found Knight standing over the woman holding a knife, according to police.

A police spokesman, Jay Rivera, said the woman was not stabbed, but added, "Had it not been for that citizen calling, who knows what would have happened?"

Knight was arrested without incident and booked into the Clark County Detention Center, while his girlfriend was taken to a nearby hospital, police said.

Knight's lawyer, Richard Schonfeld, said he expected his client to post bail, which was set at $19,000, after the mandatory 12-hour holding period for domestic violence cases.