1. Suge Knight is currently serving a 28-year sentence in prison for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015.
52 Facts About Suge Knight
1. 2.
Suge Knight briefly played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL players strike.
3.
Three hours later, someone shot into the car Suge Knight was driving, injuring Suge Knight and fatally wounding Shakur.
4.
Meanwhile, allegations mounted that Suge Knight, beyond employing gang members, often used intimidation and violence in his business dealings.
5.
In September 2018, Suge Knight pled no contest to voluntary manslaughter in a fatal 2015 hit-and-run.
6.
Suge Knight was sentenced to 28 years in prison, and is eligible for parole in October 2034, when he will be 69 years old.
7.
Suge Knight was born in Compton, California, the son of Maxine and Marion Suge Knight Sr.
8.
Suge Knight attended Lynwood High School in nearby Lynwood, where he was a football and track star.
9.
Suge Knight is affiliated with the Mob Piru Bloods, a set of the Bloods gang.
10.
From 1983 to 1985, Suge Knight attended and played football at El Camino College.
11.
Suge Knight went undrafted in the 1987 NFL draft, but was invited to the Los Angeles Rams training camp.
12.
Suge Knight was cut by the Rams during camp, but became a replacement player during the 1987 NFL Players Strike, and played two games for the Rams.
13.
However, Vanilla Ice has said that never happened, only that Suge Knight threatened to throw him off the balcony; the claim was resolved in court.
14.
Conrad Tillard, then the Nation of Islam minister known as Conrad Muhammad, the Hip Hop Minister, counseled Combs during his ensuing feud with Suge Knight, and asked Suge Knight to stop terrorizing Combs.
15.
Suge Knight later explained his concern about this circumstance in an interview on Trinity Broadcasting Network since he was in Las Vegas with Tupac the night of his death.
16.
The friendships between Hammer, Tupac and Suge Knight were depicted in the television film, Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story.
17.
Former Death Row artists, including Snoop Dogg, later accused Suge Knight of being involved in Tupac's murder.
18.
Ex-detective Russell Poole conjectured that Suge Knight had Tupac killed before he could part ways with Suge Knight's label and then conspired to kill Biggie to divert attention from himself in the Tupac case.
19.
In 2005, Chuck Philips of the Los Angeles Times reported that another source for the theory of Biggie's murder implicating Muhammad, Mack, Suge Knight and the LAPD was a schizophrenic man known as "Psycho Mike" who later confessed to hearsay and memory lapses and falsely identifying Muhammad.
20.
Suge Knight was later killed in what police said was an unrelated gang shooting.
21.
Kading alleged that Suge Knight hired Wardell "Poochie" Fouse to kill Biggie, Sean Combs' most valuable star, whose murder was done following a party at the Peterson Automotive Museum.
22.
Suge Knight signed with Master P's No Limit Records and then formed his own record label, Doggystyle Records.
23.
Suge Knight responded, stating that Snoop was a "police informer" who "never goes to jail".
24.
Suge Knight, who was affiliated with the Mob Piru Bloods, hired members from this gang to work for Death Row Records.
25.
Suge Knight hired members of two other Blood sets, Fruit Town Piru and Lueders Park Piru.
26.
Bankruptcy documents filed showed Suge Knight had no income from employment or operation of a business.
27.
Suge Knight testified that the last time he had checked the label's financial records was at least 10 years prior.
28.
Suge Knight's lawyer said that his client was still "at the helm" of Death Row and had been working on securing distribution deals for the label's catalog.
29.
Suge Knight filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which allows a company to continue business operations while restructuring.
30.
Death Row was being operated by Neilson during the bankruptcy proceedings, while Suge Knight oversaw his bankruptcy estate as a debtor in possession.
31.
On November 3,1989, Suge Knight married Sharitha Lee Golden in Las Vegas.
32.
In October 2023, Suge Knight co-founded a podcast with Breakbeat Media.
33.
Suge Knight was then sentenced to nine years in prison on February 28,1997, for the probation violation but was granted early release and was let out of FCI Sheridan on August 6,2001.
34.
In 2003, Suge Knight was sent to prison again for violating parole when he struck a parking lot attendant, and reoccurring gang affiliation in 2002.
35.
In 2006, Suge Knight was engaged in another dispute with former friend and ex-associate Snoop Dogg after Snoop insulted him in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.
36.
In January 2008, it was stated by police that Suge Knight was one of the members of the Mob Piru street gang in a crackdown by authorities in the city of Compton.
37.
On May 10,2008, Suge Knight was involved in an altercation involving a monetary dispute outside of a nightclub in Hollywood.
38.
The lawsuit concerns an August 2005 shooting at West's pre-Video Music Awards party, where Suge Knight was wounded by a gunshot to the upper leg.
39.
In February 2009, Suge Knight was taken to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn to be treated for facial injuries he received during an altercation at a private party in the W Scottsdale Hotel, where Suge Knight was punched.
40.
On February 8,2012, Suge Knight was arrested in Las Vegas, after police found cannabis in his car and several warrants for prior traffic violations.
41.
Evidence from closed circuit television footage showed that Suge Knight was the intended target of the shooting.
42.
Friend Keith Middlebrook told the New York Daily News that Suge Knight returned home with the intention to "heal up in a few days and be stronger than ever".
43.
Suge Knight refused to cooperate with law enforcement on the matter.
44.
On January 29,2015, Suge Knight crashed his car into two men, killing Terry Carter, and fled the scene in Compton, California.
45.
Witnesses said Suge Knight followed the men to a burger stand parking lot after an argument on the Straight Outta Compton film set, and that the collision looked intentional.
46.
In March 2015, Suge Knight was hospitalized after he told a judge that he was suffering from blindness and other complications.
47.
Suge Knight fired attorneys handling his murder case and said he was receiving inadequate medical treatment while in custody.
48.
Suge Knight collapsed in court shortly after the bail setting was announced.
49.
In January 2016, Suge Knight changed counsel in his murder trial for a fourth time.
50.
Suge Knight became emotional after the ruling, stating that because of his health problems, he will die in jail.
51.
In March 2017, Suge Knight was hospitalized after suffering from blood clots, a condition that had been affecting him for two and a half years by that time.
52.
Suge Knight pleaded not guilty to the charge, and the charge was dropped as part of Suge Knight's plea agreement in the death of Terry Carter.