An older mug shot shot via Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
Suge Knight is in deep shit.
The 49-year-old Death Row Records founder turned himself into the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department early this morning after he allegedly ran over one man and injured another in the parking lot of a burger joint in Compton, California. An argument with members of a film crew that began on the set for the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton apparently spilled over to the nearby restaurant, and that’s when someone died.
Videos by VICE
Witnesses told TMZ, which broke the story, that Knight’s behavior at Tam’s Burgers got the attention of security, who asked him to leave. Knight’s lawyer contradicted this version of events to the local media, suggesting his client was “attacked” by two people. Either way, one man died and the other was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Tam’s Burgers in Compton, via Google Street View
The police haven’t released the name of the deceased, but some outlets are suggesting it’s Terry Carter, a friend of Knight’s who showed up at the burger joint with him.
Knight’s lawyer described the event as an accident, suggesting Knight hit the pedestrians while leaving. Police are treating it as a homicide, however. Late Thursday night, they held a press conference, and stated that Knight had run over the victim more than once. After turning himself in and being interviewed, Knight was arrested and his bail was set at $2 million.
The other victim named in the media, Cle Sloane—an actor from Training Day and End of Watch—does not appear to have suffered serious injuries.
While it might be hard to believe, the possibility of a fresh murder charge isn’t the only thing that’s making Knight’s life hard right now. Last summer, Knight attended a party hosted by Chris Brown, and wound up getting shot six times. Then, in October, Knight and his friend comedian Katt Williams were arrested for stealing a paparazzi’s camera.
According to Suge’s lawyer, his health is in decline. He was hospitalized in November after taking a bad fall in his jail cell. He then passed out while receiving an X-ray and found out he had a blood clot in one of his lungs, according to TMZ. He’s also been on blood thinners, and was still recovering from the ordeal when this latest fracas went down.
To make matters worse for Knight, he was due in court this week because of the camera incident. He has a history of blowing off court dates, and a history of violent crime.
Long story short: Knight’s health appears to be fragile, it already looked like he was bound for prison, and now he’s facing a potential murder charge.
Knight is famous, of course, for creating Death Row Records and being probably as responsible as any non-musician for putting the West Coast G-funk sound in record stores and on the radio in the early 1990s.
Of course, Knight never really cleared his name—in the public eye, at least—for the 1997 murder of the Notorious B.I.G. His storied rivalry with Biggie’s label Bad Boy Records is still a favorite topic of conspiracy theorists, but what happened in the parking lot seems a lot less mysterious.
Follow Mike Pearl on Twitter.
