Suge Knight (Marion Hugh) has been incarcerated since 2015, after running over two men while fleeing a parking lot in Compton, CA.
In 2018, the record producer and former co-founder and CEO of Death Row Records took a plea deal for manslaughter and was sentenced to 28 years.
He was credited for around 3 1/2 years of time served and will be on parole for three years after his release.
Why did Knight run over the two men
Knight drove his truck to Tam’s Burgers, where rapper/producer/co-founder of Death Row Records, Dr. Dre, was filming footage for the NWA biopic, Straight Outta Compton.
Twenty minutes prior, Knight was kicked out of another filming location and claimed he went to the restaurant to make peace with Dr. Dre.
Knight pulled into the parking lot, when a man who did security for the film, Cle Bone Sloan, went to Knight’s truck to confront him.
Sloan reached into Knight’s driver-side window, and Knight reversed the vehicle, hitting Sloan with the side view mirror and knocked him down.
Terry Carter — the man that Knight ran over and killed — was standing near Sloan, during the confrontation. Knight then puts the vehicle in drive, hits Sloan again, and then fatally runs over Carter.
Knight said that he didn’t mean to run over Carter and Sloan, but was scared for his life and tried to escape. Knight’s lawyer said that both Carter and Sloan had guns.
Law enforcement said that Knight could have escaped after hitting Sloan with the mirror while driving in reverse. Knight claimed that he felt that if he had driven off, the men would have shot at him.
The plea deal
After around 3 1/2 years in jail, Knight struck a plea for 28 years. He pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter.
His sentence was a little longer than a typical voluntary manslaughter charge because he had a prior felony conviction in 1997.
He also got an additional five years because the killing was considered “a serious and violent” felony. He also got an additional year because his truck was considered a deadly weapon.
Knight was 53 years old at the time of his sentencing.