A judge presiding over the wrongful death case of Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace may formally add Marion “Suge” Knight and corrupt cop Rafael Perez as defendants she indicated today (November 17).
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper said she may issue a final order to add Knight and Perez due to new evidence surrounding B.I.G’s murder, which occurred on Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile on March 9, 1997, just six months after the brazen murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, on Las Vegas’s famed Strip.
“Plaintiffs have presented evidence that indicates Perez was on duty the night of the [B.I.G.] murder and may have been at the scene of the crime in an official capacity,” Cooper wrote in an order issued on Friday (November 16).
The new evidence allegedly connects Knight, Perez and David Mack, another disgraced Los Angeles police officer, who is serving 14-years for bank robbery.
According to sources, the cellmate claims Mack admitted to providing security for Knight on the evening B.I.G. was gunned down.
“Through his police contacts, Knight knew where Wallace was and sent Mack to take care of him,” said Robert J. Frank, attorney for the Wallace estate.
Wallace’s family claims Knight killed the rapper during an ongoing feud between Shakur and Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment.
Attorneys for The City of Los Angeles dismissed the information as hearsay from a convict attempting to have his sentenced reduced.
Knight has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence in both murders.