Suge Knight has lost yet another defense lawyer as he awaits trial for murder charges. According to PageSix, Dominique Banos, Knight's lawyer, was released by Judge Ronald S. Coen after a conflict of interest was cited. She is the 15th defense lawyer Knight has lost over the 3 years leading up to his oft-delayed trial.
Banos reportedly believes she is a target in the witness-tampering investigation that previously resulted in the indictment and removal of two lawyers representing Knight. She has denied wrongdoing.
The aforementioned lawyers, Matthew Fletcher and Thaddeus Culpepper, allegedly used tampering maneuvers that they carried out in conjunction with Suge's murder case. They were booked on charges of acting as accessories after the fact, which qualifies as a felony. Their alleged attempts to bribe witnesses landed both men behind bars on $1 million bail in January.
A 16th attorney, Robert DeBlanc, has been appointed by Judge Coen, though Knight has also employed his own lawyer to take over.
The trial date of April 9th has now been postponed. A new hearing will be held in May.
Suge is pleading not guilty to murder and attempted murder stemming from an incident in which he ran over two men with his car in Compton, killing one.