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Suge Knight

Suge Knight arrested in fatal hit-and-run

Jayme Deerwester
USA TODAY
Suge Knight

Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight was arrested for murder early Friday following a fatal hit-and-run incident in Compton, Calif.

The incident occurred during a Thursday promotional shoot for Universal Pictures' upcoming NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton.

The Los Angeles Police Department says he was booked around 3 a.m. in West Hollywood and is in custody. Bail was set at $2 million.

Police reports say a man matching Knight's description ran over two men with a red pickup truck and then hit them a second time while fleeing the scene, killing Terry Carter, 55, and injuring Cle Sloan, 51.

"So far, people we talked to said it looked like it was an intentional act. So we're handling it as a homicide," Los Angeles police Lt. John Corina said.

Initially, Knight turned himself in for questioning, with his attorney stating that the rap mogul accidentally ran over and killed a friend and injured another man as he fled attackers.

Officials say that a red pickup truck struck the men in the parking lot of a nearby restaurant, Tam's Burgers, around 3 p.m. PT Thursday before driving off.

"Looks like he drove backwards and struck the victims and drove forwards and struck them again," Corina said. "The people we talked to say it looked like it was an intentional act."

The Sheriff's Department said in a statement that Carter and Sloan were in the parking lot when the red pick-up arrived and its driver became involved in an argument with them.

"The argument escalated and the driver backed up striking one of the victims. The driver then drove forward driving over both victims," the sheriff's statement said. "Various witnesses described the driver as being Marion 'Suge' Knight."

"To see the argument happen, it's one thing," said 17-year-old Robert Smith, who was eating in the restaurant. "Seeing the car incident, that was shocking."

The empty truck was found late Thursday night in a West Los Angeles parking lot, Corina said. He went on to say that the rap mogul was seen driving a red pickup truck 20 minutes earlier in a different part of town where a video was being shot.

Knight's attorney, James Blatt, maintains it was an accident. "He was in the process of being physically assaulted by two men and in an effort to escape he unfortunately hit two (other) individuals," the lawyer said. "He was in his car trying to escape."

The incident occurred on the set of a film about the iconic L.A. rap group N.W.A. Band members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre and rapper The Game were all on set Thursday shooting a promo for the movie when the deadly car crash occurred. Ice Cube even posted a photo on Instagram from the shoot prior to the incident.

An individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap.com that Ice Cube, Dre and The Game were filming at a separate location and did not witness the crash.

Knight has a long history of run-ins with the law ranging from assaults to driving violations.

In November, he pleaded not guilty to a robbery charge filed over an incident in which 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.

He has prior felony convictions for armed robbery and assault with a gun. He pleaded no contest in 1995 and was sentenced to five years' probation for assaulting two rap entertainers at a Hollywood recording studio in 1992.

He also serve time for probation violations.

Last August, Knight was shot six times at a Los Angeles nightclub. No arrests were made.

Contributing: Deborah Day and Anita Bennett, The Wrap; Brian Truitt

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