Former rap mogul Marion 'Suge' Knight charged with murder

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Former rap mogul Marion 'Suge' Knight charged with murder
By TAMI ABDOLLAH

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former hip-hop music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was charged Monday with murder and attempted murder after he struck two men with his pickup truck last week.

Prosecutors allege that Knight intended to run down a friend and another man after an argument on a movie set. One of the men was killed.

Attorney James Blatt says Knight accidentally ran over the men on Thursday as he tried to escape a vicious attack. He turned himself in to police on Friday.

Knight's initial bail of $2 million was revoked Monday after a court commissioner agreed with authorities that he was a potential flight risk and could intimidate witnesses.

The ruling came after detectives told the bail commissioner that the 49-year-old founder of Death Row Records could face a lengthy prison sentence because of a violent criminal past and had the potential to intimidate witnesses, Los Angeles County sheriff's spokeswoman Nicole Nishida said.

Knight is scheduled to appear in court in Compton on Tuesday to be arraigned on four felony counts, which include murder in the death of 55-year-old Terry Carter, "attempted, willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder" involving victim 51-year-old Cle "Bone" Sloan, plus two charges of hit-and-run.

Knight was out on bail in a separate robbery case when the men were killed.

Knight was at the center of one of the most notorious rap conflicts of the 1990s, pitting Tupac Shakur against Biggie Smalls in an East Coast-West Coast rivalry.

Knight was sent to prison for nearly five years for badly beating a rival with Shakur at a Las Vegas hotel, just hours before Shakur was fatally shot while riding in Knight's car just east of the Strip.

In the current case, Knight struck two men with his pickup truck on in a parking lot. The collision killed his friend, Carter, a founder and owner of Heavyweight Records who was viewed as a local father figure and tried to help mentor young men in the community, said Doug Young, a friend and hip-hop music promoter. The collision injured Sloan, an actor and film consultant.

Authorities have said Knight argued with Sloan who was working earlier at a location for the film "Straight Outta Compton" about the rise of the rap group N.W.A. Knight was told by sheriff's deputies providing security to leave the film set.

The argument resumed in the parking lot where Knight and Sloan exchanged punches through a window of the pickup truck before the two men were run down, authorities said.

Blatt has said Knight was attacked by four people, including Sloan, and that Knight hit the gas and fled in fear.

Because a conviction in the case could result in Knight's third serious felony under California's three strikes sentencing law, Knight could face up to life in prison if he's convicted.

The incident, which took place in a Compton burger stand parking lot, came less than six months after Knight was shot six times at a West Hollywood nightclub in August — the second shooting he has survived. No arrests have been made in that case.

At 6-foot-4 and weighing 325 pounds, Knight is an imposing figure who is credited, in part, with helping create Death Row Records when he strong-armed another label to release Dr. Dre from his contract, said Chuck Creekmur, CEO of allhiphop.com.

Knight and Dre later had a falling out, and Dre left the record company that eventually declared bankruptcy and was auctioned off.

In November, Knight pleaded not guilty to a robbery charge filed after a celebrity photographer accused him of stealing her camera in Beverly Hills. Because of prior convictions, he could face up to 30 years in prison in that case.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-02-03

[Stradavarius37]

Enjoy prison Suge. They love beefy boys like you in there...

[Credo]

It's sad to see such a good, productive and gentle person removed from society.

So this is what happens when you forget to bring your gun with you?

[Rykbanlor]

He's had this coming for a long time. Johnnie Cochran ain't around anymore, wonder who he's gonna call.

[Jay Sata]

Rap and violence seem to go hand in hand.

This bad boy would be out on the streets if he was a hiso in Bangkok and never see jail time.

I hope he goes away for a long time.

[catinthehat]

You can take the boy out of "hood"..................but you can't take the "hood" out of the boy. That right homie??????

[overherebc]

One of the best comments I ever heard about RAP music was from a Bruce Willis film. I think The Last Boyscout.

Bad guy:-- Before you die I want to hear you scream in pain.

Willis:- Play some RAP music.

[Jay Sata]

Does nothing for me and the lyrics encourage violence.

I believe the US used it in Iraq to torture prisoners.

[JingerBen]

Does nothing for me and the lyrics encourage violence.

I believe the US used it in Iraq to torture prisoners.

Torture?... we don't do torture.

Rap music is as American as apple pie, chitlins, and hog jowls.

[spidermike007]

One can only hope this guy goes away for life. To call him a super thug would be such an insult to the thugs of the world. This guy has been making peoples lives miserable since he was a young boy. Even his mama hates him. LOL. Seriously, if Tupac had not been influenced by this super freak, he might still be alive, and we would be blessed to hear more music from one of the greatest rappers of all time. Not to mention Biggie Smalls. The mischief this creep has started, and continued with all these years boggles the mind. Hope his third strike is his last strike.