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Former US rap mogul Marion \u201cSuge\u201d Knight has pleaded no contest to a voluntary manslaughter charge over a hit-and-run incident in 2015.<\/p>\n
The Death Row Records founder made the plea to avoid charges of murdering one man and attempting to murder a second with his pick-up truck in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
The incident happened after an argument over the making of Straight Outta Compton, a biopic about rap group NWA.<\/p>\n
Knight will be formally sentenced to 28 years in prison in October.<\/p>\n
His record label helped launch the careers of artists including Dr Dre, Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.<\/p>\n
Under Californian state law, a no contest plea is the legal equivalent of a guilty plea.<\/p>\n
As part of the agreement, the murder charges against Knight, 53, will be dismissed by prosecutors, along with separate criminal cases charging him with robbery and making criminal threats.<\/p>\n
The deal, in which Knight admitted using a \u201cdeadly and dangerous weapon\u201d when he ran down two men with his vehicle, calls for him to serve 22 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter with a further six years added because of the US \u201cthree-strikes\u201d law relating to repeated violations.<\/p>\n
Had Knight been found guilty of murder as originally charged, he would have faced life in prison, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
What happened in the hit-and-run?<\/strong><\/p>\n The charge relates to an incident in January 2015 in Compton, a suburb of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Knight was accused of deliberately running over two men with his pick-up truck outside a hamburger restaurant following an argument on the set of a commercial for Straight Outta Compton.<\/p>\n One of the victims, Terry Carter, died of his injuries while the other, Cle \u201cBone\u201d Sloan, suffered serious injuries to his feet and head.<\/p>\n Footage of the incident captured by security cameras show Knight\u2019s vehicle pulling up to the drive-in shop, with one of the victims approaching the driver\u2019s side window. Following what appears to be a brief discussion, a struggle then ensues.<\/p>\n Knight\u2019s truck is seen going into reverse, throwing the man to the ground. It then moves forward, driving over his legs and slams into the other victim, who was killed.<\/p>\n Knight turned himself in to authorities a day after the incident. His attorneys had said he was acting in self-defence and was fleeing armed attackers when he ran over Mr Carter and Mr Sloan.<\/p>\n Mr Sloan has denied claims he was carrying a gun during the confrontation.<\/p>\n
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