LOS ANGELES - In an investigation centered around the crumbling rap music empire of Marion "Suge" Knight, Los Angeles authorities arrested three of his associates yesterday on suspicion of conspiring to murder a gang rival.
The three - a former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy and two alleged gang members - are accused of plotting to kill the rival in revenge for the death of another Knight associate who was gunned down in April. The arrests came during an early-morning sweep in which 175 sheriff's deputies served search warrants at 16 places in Southern California and Las Vegas, including Knight's office near Beverly Hills and his homes in three cities.
Knight, the founder of Death Row Records, was one of the most influential figures in rap and hip-hop music, which he helped launch from an inner-city fad into an international cultural phenomenon. But along the way, Knight has been closely associated with the music's dark side: a violent streak that has claimed the lives of several of its brightest stars and many hangers-on.
Sheriff's department officials said yesterday that Knight was not a suspect in their investigation, which focuses on a string of alleged gang killings, including several in which the victims were Knight employees or associates. They also stressed that the investigation was not related to the unsolved killings of two of rap's biggest stars, Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (also known as Biggie Smalls and Notorious B.I.G.).
"This is strictly a gang-related murder," Sheriff's Capt. Pete Amico told a news conference.
Yesterday's sweep netted the arrests of former Sheriff's Deputy Kordell Depree Knox, along with reputed gang members Michael Payne, 25, and Theodore Kelly, 29, authorities said. They were being charged with conspiracy stemming from the June 7 death of Eric Letheal Daniel, 29, a reputed Compton, Calif., gang member known by the nickname "Scar."
None of the three is believed to have been the gunman, investigators said. Sheriff's investigators have arrest warrants for five other people.
Kelly was arrested at 5 a.m. at the Wilshire Boulevard headquarters of Knight's company, now known as Tha Row Records. Knox, who worked as a security guard at Tha Row, was arrested about the same time at his Compton home. Payne was arrested in Long Beach.
Knox, 37, is a former Compton police officer who became a sheriff's deputy when the department took over policing duties in Compton. He was dismissed by the department earlier this month when he came under investigation for an off-duty assault, Amico said.
Two other men, Darryl Small and DeShone Lacey, were arrested in yesterday's sweep on unrelated drug-possession charges, sheriff's officials said. Small was arrested at Knight's office; Lacey at his Compton home.
Heavily armed deputies served search and arrest warrants in and around Los Angeles. Besides Compton and Long Beach, warrants were served in Malibu, Lakewood, Paramount, Lynwood and Las Vegas.
Sheriff's officials said they employed the department's SWAT team because of the suspects' history of violence.
At Tha Row's office, a pile of glass marked the entrance where sheriff's investigators smashed a door to force their way in. Yellow tape surrounded the building as deputies seized boxes of documents and a computer, which they later carted away in an unmarked pickup truck.
In addition, a 9 mm handgun was recovered from Knight's offices, Amico said. But he added, "It's not the 9 mm related to the Daniel shooting." One goal of the sweep was to recover the weapon used in that slaying.
Investigators believe Daniel's murder was the result of a rivalry between two sects of the Bloods gang and was in revenge for the killing of Alton "Buntry" McDonald, a former associate of Knight.
"We are searching for evidence related to a murder and conspiracy to commit murder," said Deputy Darren Harris. "Tha Row Records has some connections."
Knight was not in his office yesterday and did not return calls. His lawyer, David Z. Chesnoff, issued a one-sentence statement: "We appreciate the professionalism of the police in clearly indicating that Mr. Knight is not a suspect."