Rap mogul Suge Knight is in police custody today following a fatal hit-and-run on the set of a movie yesterday afternoon. The former Death Row Records co-founder turned himself in to the West Hollywood precinct of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department early this morning, and according to the Los Angeles Times, is currently “being held in lieu of $2-million bail.”
The debacle started yesterday around 3PM (PST) when Knight, whose given name is Marion Hugh Knight Jr., apparently became involved in an altercation of sorts on the set of the upcoming biographical film Straight Outta Compton. The film, which chronicles the exploits and rise to fame of the iconic rap group NWA, is shooting in Compton and involves such high-profile rap industry names such as The Game, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre.
Though the emerging accounts of what exactly happened yesterday seem to differ slightly, they all appear to agree that Knight’s beef was actually a two-part spat with several of the film’s crew members. Knight, according to a source who spoke to TMZ, showed up on set, where production had ceased for the day. Suge was asked to leave the premises by the film’s security staff. This didn’t sit well with the current Black Kapital Records CEO, who police say followed the men to a nearby fast food restaurant about 20 minutes later.
Knight encountered the men with whom he’d previously argued in the parking lot of Tam’s Burgers, a well frequented greasy spoon at the intersection of Central and East Rosecrans avenues in Compton. At some point, Knight exited his vehicle and engaged the men. However, Knight’s lawyer, James Blatt, claims the rap executive was in his truck when the second argument began, that the men with whom Knight was fighting were trying to force him out of the truck.
Witnesses on the scene told police and the media that whatever the initial nature of the fracas, Knight managed to get himself back inside his truck, hit the victims with the vehicle, put the vehicle in reverse and backed over them, and then fled the scene. While the LA Times is reporting that two men were hit, TMZ claims three men were the victims of Knight’s hit-and-run driving.
One detail, however, is consistent between the differing accounts of what went down: a 55-year-old man, whom TMZ identifies as Knight’s friend Terry Carter, was fatally run over. Multiple media sources are identifying the other victim as a 51-year-old man, and TMZ is insisting someone by the name of Cle “Bone” Sloan was among the injured.
After Knight fled the scene, the LA County Sheriff’s Department issued a bulletin advising that Knight, wanted for a homicide, was armed and dangerous. The mogul’s truck was found abandoned in Los Angeles’ Westwood section not long afterward. Knight turned himself in for questioning at around 3AM (PST) this morning, and was formally arrested on murder charges about an hour later.
For his part, Suge’s lawyer “anticipate[s] him being exonerated,” though “the investigation is in its very beginning stages.” This most recent catastrophe seems to be the latest in a spate of misfortunes encountered by the beleaguered Knight, who was reportedly shot six times at Chris Brown’s after-party for the MTV Video Music Awards over the summer.
Update: Suge Knight May Get Life Sentence. Click here for more information.