LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Los Angeles has been ordered to pay $1.1 million to the family of slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. for withholding evidence in his death.
The family's civil suit ended in a mistrial after it was discovered the Los Angeles Police Department withheld statements linking two rogue LAPD officers to the shooting of B.I.G. -- whose real name was Christopher Wallace, the Los Angeles Times reported.
City attorneys had argued at the time the statements were from a jailhouse informant seeking favors, while a police detective claimed he had merely "overlooked" the evidence, the Times said.
U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ruled Friday the information could have helped the Wallace family in its suit, and ordered the city to pay the family $1.1 million for all of its attorney fees and court costs.
The family had sought $2 million, but Cooper left the door open for the family to recoup an additional $300,000, the Times said.
B.I.G., 24, was killed March 9, 1997, after attending a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
The slaying remains unsolved.
