LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight was charged with murder and attempted murder yesterday in connection with an incident in which prosecutors say he ran over two men in a Southern California parking lot last week, killing one of them.
Knight, the 49-year-old co-founder of influential hip hop label Death Row Records, was charged with one count each of murder and attempted murder, and two counts of felony hit-and-run, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said.
The music executive, who faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if found guilty, was taken into custody on suspicion of murder on Friday after surrendering to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies.
He was expected to make an initial court appearance today.
According to sheriff’s officials, the murder charge stems from an incident that began when Knight and two other people began arguing in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant in Compton, south of downtown Los Angeles.
Knight and another man began throwing punches at each other through the window of the rap tycoon’s Ford F-150 Raptor pickup before he put the vehicle in reverse, knocking the man to the ground, the sheriff’s department has said.
Knight then pulled forward, running over one victim and striking the second before leaving the scene, according to the sheriff’s department. One of the victims, identified as 55-year-old Terry Carter, later died.
