14 DAY TRIAL // Hip hop mogul Suge Knight ran over 2 men with his pickup truck last week, killing one of them in the process. Even though that one was his friend, he then drove off and tried to evade police for a few hours, before surrendering himself and claiming innocence.
The LAPD investigation is still underway, but the DA is charging Knight with murder and several other counts. If found guilty, this will be his third strike, which means he will have the book thrown at him and will go away for life.
A history of violence and convictions
Suge Knight is the co-founder of the Death Row Records and he is believed to have been involved in the deaths of two of the most famous rappers ever, Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, aka the Notorious B.I.G., though that was never effectively proven.
Just last year, Knight was shot 6 times during a brawl at a Chris Brown concert, and refused to offer the police any kind of lead into who might be responsible for it.
Suge Knight has been arrested and convicted on a series of offenses and crimes, including parole violation, aggravated assault, possession, robbery and gun charges. He also did time behind bars, which means that, if he’s found guilty of murder, this will be his third strike.
He will get life in prison because of his violent track record. This is also why he is now being held without bail, even though it was initially set at $2 million (€1.76 million): authorities consider him a flight risk, and also willing to intimidate witnesses in the ongoing investigation, in an attempt to sway them in his favor.
Prosecutors want him gone, he will try to plead self-defense
Last week’s incident happened after an altercation on the set of the N.W.A. biopic “Straight Outta Compton” in Los Angeles, where Knight had arrived in his truck with the friend he would later kill, Terry Carter.
The fight continued in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant next door, with Carter getting out of the car to try and get everyone to calm down. Allegedly, this is when Knight got in the truck, reversed it until he hit them, accelerated forward and then backed up once more, just to make sure he didn’t miss the intended targets. Carter died at the hospital later.
Knight fled the scene of the crime, with the police recovering the vehicle used in the attack some hours later. Even later, Knight turned himself in.
“Marion ‘Suge’ Knight was charged today with murder and other counts following a fatal hit-and-run in a Compton parking lot last week,” the LA County District Attorney’s Office says in a statement. “Knight (dob 4/19/65) is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.[He] is charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of hit-and-run with an allegation that he committed a serious and violent felony while out on bail in another pending case.”
Knight was on parole from another case, a robbery conviction.
Based on what his attorney has been telling the media in the hours after he turned himself in, they will probably be going for self-defense in court, arguing that Knight was scared for his life and, still in frail condition after last year’s shooting, he tried to run in his car. His lawyer claimed he didn’t even realize he’d struck someone with his car, despite running over them twice, back and forth.