The new lawyer for rap music mogul Suge Knight said a disturbing video that appears to show Knight running over two men with his truck in the Los Angeles suburb of Compton will help clear his client.
Knight appeared briefly in a Los Angeles court on Monday for a “discovery hearing”. His new attorney Matthew Fletcher spoke to reporters after the hearing, and said the video shows his client was attacked and forced to defend himself.
“They started it … They attacked him,” Fletcher said, according to the LA Times. Then, invoking a stand-your-ground style defense, he said: “You’re not required by law to run … If Suge had put it in park and got out, he’s dead.”
The website TMZ released graphic security footage on Monday, which it said shows Knight’s red truck pull up to Tam’s Burgers in Compton near the set of Universal Pictures’ Straight Outta Compton on 29 January. People standing nearby walk over to the truck, when Fletcher says Knight was attacked. TMZ reports that Knight is confronted by Cle “Bone” Sloan, who it says “clearly” begins attacking him through the driver’s window. The alleged assault is not clearly captured on the video.
The truck suddenly reverses, knocking one of the men to the ground. Seconds later, the truck rushes forward, running over the man on the ground and hitting a second man.
Fletcher, who is now representing Knight after the Death Row Records co-founder fired two lawyers in recent weeks, said of the video: “100% it proves Suge Knight was attacked”.
TMZ posted the video at the behest of Carter’s family. The family’s lawyer, Gary Dordick, told the website: “The Carter family is pleased you are releasing the video so the public can see what actually occurred and not be forced to speculate based on third party descriptions of the video.”
Knight was charged with murder and attempted murder following the incident that left Terry Carter, 55, dead and Sloan, 51, injured. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and is being held without bail on murder and felony hit-and-run charges.
Prosecutors say the confrontation began when Knight and Bone started punching each other through the window of Knight’s truck.
Knight told a Los Angeles court last week he was nearly blind and “can’t really comprehend what was going on” inside the courtroom and claimed he was receiving inadequate medical care in prison.
Knight, who has served time in prison for a parole violation, also faces charges arising from a September incident in which prosecutors say he stole a camera from a celebrity photographer. Knight was out on bail at the time of the alleged hit-and-run incident.
