Suge Knight Is a No-Show for Robbery Hearing

LOS ANGELES (CN) - Citing illness, former rap mogul Suge Knight refused to appear in court Wednesday at a preliminary hearing on robbery charges.

Facing life in prison on an unrelated murder charge, Knight was scheduled to appear at the criminal court today in downtown Los Angeles on claims that he and comedian Micah "Katt" Williams stole a photographer's camera outside a Beverly Hills studio on Sept. 5, 2014.

Prosecutors have also accused Knight of making a terroristic threat.

At the morning hearing, Judge Ronald Coen said the Sheriff's Department reported that Knight had complained that he was sick. Coen said that he would order Knight extracted from his cell if he refused to come to court again on Friday morning.

Knight is currently without representation, the judge said. Matthew Fletcher was representing Knight on the murder and attempted murder charges.

"My view is counsel is not retained," Coen said, adding that he expected Knight to appoint a new attorney.

Fletcher made headlines last month when he predicted that if Floyd Mayweather Jr. won his fight against Manny Pacquiao the boxer would post Knight's $10 million bail.Attorney Shawn Holley appeared in court for Williams. Prosecutor Cynthia Barnes stood in for prosecutor Keri Modder.

Knight's trial on charges of murder and attempted murder is scheduled to begin on July 7.

Knight, whose real name is Marion Hugh Knight Jr., is accused of killing his friend Terry Carter, 55, and critically injuring film technician Cle Denyale "Bone" Sloan.

The incident allegedly occurred after Knight showed up uninvited to a promotional shoot for the upcoming movie "Straight Outta Compton."

Rappers Dr. Dre and Ice Cube were in the area filming a promo for the movie, a fictional biopic about N.W.A. - the rap group that made them famous.

Prosecutors say Knight, 50, ran over the two men with his pickup in the parking lot of Tam's Burgers on Jan. 29, after an altercation with Sloan.

Surveillance video shows Sloan reaching into the open window of Knight's red pickup truck in the Tam's parking lot. The video shows the driver of the truck reversing, running over Sloan then plowing into Carter. A man standing nearby then appears to take an object from Sloan.

The former Death Row Records CEO has pleaded not guilty to the charges and said he was acting in self-defense.

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