Two former lawyers who worked for rap mogul Suge Knight pleaded not guilty to claims they paid witnesses to fake testimonies in Knight's current murder trial, according to Associated Press. Â
Matthew Fletcher and Thaddeus Culpepper maintained their innocence in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday, against charges including conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The men were adamant that they did not get witnesses to lie to help their case after they were arrested in January on charges of acting as "accessories after the fact to a felony." The duo was subsequently taken off the case. According to Fletcher’s attorney Mark Geragos, the men's indictment was a “full frontal assault on those who practice criminal defense.”Â
It is alleged that prosecutors had access to recorded phone calls in which the lawyers were heard speaking to Knight about paying witnesses in order to bolster a self-defense argument, and that Culpepper was going to pay an informant to claim he was at the Compton burger stand in 2015 when the incident took place.
Knight is currently on trial for murder and attempted murder stemming from an incident in 2015 when he allegedly hit two men with his truck-killing one and injuring the other. He pleaded not guilty.
