COMPTON—Hip-hop mogul Marion “Suge” Knight, 53, was sentenced to 28 years in state prison on Thursday, September 20, after pleading no contest to running over and killing a man in a restaurant parking lot.
On January 29, 2015, Knight got into an altercation with Cle “Bone” Sloan at Tam’s Burgers located at Central and East Rosecrans Avenues in Compton. Knight backed up his Ford F-150 truck hitting Sloan and striking another man Terry Carter, 55, was killed.
Knight fled the scene after the incident as he was on the bail for robbery charges. Sloan was injured during the incident.
Knight turned himself into authorities and was arrested on charges of hit-and-run. He has been in custody since January 2015, awaiting sentencing. Knight’s attorney stated that his client was acting in self-defense, but Sloan denied he was carrying a weapon on the night of the incident.
In exchange for entering his plea to one count of voluntary manslaughter and admitted to using a special allegation that he used a deadly weapon, a truck.
“Under the sentencing guidelines, Knight would receive the high-term of 11 years in prison for the voluntary manslaughter count, which would double because he has a prior conviction under California’s three strikes law. He also would receive an additional five years because the conviction was for a serious and violent felony and a year for the deadly weapon allegation,” states a press release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The music executive is best known as co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records which he started in 1991. Death Row Records made its mark on the rap and hip-hop charts after Dr. Dre released his album “The Chronic.” Knight continued his music producing career alongside artists including Dr. Dre, Tupac and Snoop Dogg.
