Entertainment

Ex-Rap Mogul ‘Suge’ Knight Arrested in Deadly Hit-and-Run

Published

11 years ago

January 30, 2015

This image from video shows Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight, right, walking into the Los Angeles County Sheriffs department early Friday morning Jan. 30, 2015 in connection with a hit-and-run incident that left one man dead and another injured. (AP Photo/OnSceneVideo via AP Television)

RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, Associated Press

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Marion “Suge” Knight, the former rap music mogul with a long history of violent crimes, was arrested early Friday on suspicion of a hitting and killing a man with his car and then fleeing the crash near Los Angeles.

Knight’s attorney said the founder of Death Row Records accidentally ran over and killed a friend and injured another man as he tried to escape attackers Thursday, but witnesses and authorities say an argument between the men escalated into Knight ramming the pair.

Knight, who created one of rap’s leading labels and launched artists like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur, turned himself in to authorities and was arrested around 3 a.m. PST, said Deputy Trina Schrader of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

He was held on $2 million bail and could face a murder charge, she said.

A red pickup truck drove into the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant Thursday afternoon in the Los Angeles-area city of Compton, and its driver started arguing with two people there, sheriff’s officials said. The argument escalated, and the pickup struck the men around 3 p.m. and then took off, officials said.

“Looks like he drove backwards and struck the victims and drove forwards and struck them again,” sheriff’s Lt. John Corina said.

“The people we talked to say it looked like it was an intentional act,” he said.

A 55-year-old man died at a hospital, and a 51-year-old man was injured, but officials did not immediately know his condition.

Witnesses also spoke of an argument.

“To see the argument happen, it’s one thing,” said 17-year-old Robert Smith, who was eating in the restaurant. “Seeing the car incident, that was shocking.”

Knight’s attorney, James Blatt, said the crash was an accident.

“He was in the process of being physically assaulted by two men, and in an effort to escape, he unfortunately hit two (other) individuals,” the lawyer said. “He was in his car trying to escape.”

The empty truck was found late Thursday night in a West Los Angeles parking lot, Corina said. Knight was seen driving a red pickup truck 20 minutes earlier in a different part of town where a music video was being filmed, the lieutenant said.

“We are confident that once the investigation is completed, he will be totally exonerated,” Blatt said.

Knight founded Death Row Records in the 1990s, but he later declared bankruptcy, and the company was auctioned off.

Many of the records Knight released helped immortalize Compton, the city where the crash occurred, in hip-hop folklore as a gritty and violent urban environment, though crime has dipped significantly there since its 1990s peak.

Knight lengthy history of run-ins with the law range from assaults to driving violations.

In November, he pleaded not guilty to a robbery charge filed over an incident in which a celebrity photographer accused him of stealing her camera in Beverly Hills. Because of prior convictions, he could face up to 30 years in prison.

He has felony convictions for armed robbery and assault with a gun. He pleaded no contest in 1995 and was sentenced to five years’ probation for assaulting two rap entertainers at a Hollywood recording studio in 1992.

He also served timed for probation violations.

Last August, Knight was shot six times at a Los Angeles nightclub. No arrests have been made.

___

Associated Press writers Christopher Weber and Robert Jablon contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

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Activism

OP-ED: AB 1349 Puts Corporate Power Over Community

Since Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010, ticket prices have jumped more than 150 percent. Activities that once fit a family’s budget now take significant disposable income that most working families simply don’t have. The problem is compounded by a system that has tilted access toward the wealthy and white-collar workers. If you have a fancy credit card, you get “presale access,” and if you work in an office instead of a warehouse, you might be able to wait in an online queue to buy a ticket. Access now means privilege.

Published

5 days ago

January 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

By Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

As a pastor, I believe in the power that a sense of community can have on improving people’s lives. Live events are one of the few places where people from different backgrounds and ages can share the same space and experience – where construction workers sit next to lawyers at a concert, and teenagers enjoy a basketball game with their grandparents. Yet, over the past decade, I’ve witnessed these experiences – the concerts, games, and cultural events where we gather – become increasingly unaffordable, and it is a shame.

These moments of connection matter as they form part of the fabric that holds communities together. But that fabric is fraying because of Ticketmaster/Live Nation’s unchecked control over access to live events. Unfortunately, AB 1349 would only further entrench their corporate power over our spaces.

Power over live events is concentrated in a single corporate entity, and this regime operates without transparency or accountability – much like a dictator. Ticketmaster controls 80 percent of first-sale tickets and nearly a third of resale tickets, but they still want more. More power, more control for Ticketmaster means higher prices and less access for consumers. It’s the agenda they are pushing nationally, with the help of former Trump political operatives, who are quietly trying to undo the antitrust lawsuit launched against Ticketmaster/Live Nation under President Biden’s DOJ.

That’s why I’m deeply concerned about AB 1349 in its current form. Rather than reining in Ticketmaster’s power, the bill risks strengthening it, aligning with Trump. AB 1349 gives Ticketmaster the ability to control a consumer’s ticket forever by granting Ticketmaster’s regime new powers in state law to prevent consumers from reselling or giving away their tickets. It also creates new pathways for Ticketmaster to discriminate and retaliate against consumers who choose to shop around for the best service and fees on resale platforms that aren’t yet controlled by Ticketmaster. These provisions are anti-consumer and anti-democratic.

California has an opportunity to stand with consumers, to demand transparency, and to restore genuine competition in this industry. But that requires legislation developed with input from the community and faith leaders, not proposals backed by the very company causing the harm.

Will our laws reflect fairness, inclusion, and accountability? Or will we let corporate interests tighten their grip on spaces that should belong to everyone? I, for one, support the former and encourage the California Legislature to reject AB 1349 outright or amend it to remove any provisions that expand Ticketmaster’s control. I also urge community members to contact their representatives and advocate for accessible, inclusive live events for all Californians. Let’s work together to ensure these gathering spaces remain open and welcoming to everyone, regardless of income or background.