Exclusive: Carter family speaks out on Suge Knight hit-and-run murder case
02/19/2016 12:35 pm PST
UPDATE September 20, 2018:
Marion “Suge” Knight pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018, in the 2015 hit-and-run death of a man outside a Compton restaurant after a dispute related to the film “Straight Outta Compton.”
The plea deal struck in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom calls for Knight, 53, to serve 28 years in state prison.
February 19, 2016:
Terry Carter's family is sharing details with Crime Watch Daily that you haven't heard before in the high-profile murder case of former rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight.
It was the fatal hit-and-run that became international news, made all the more shocking because of the man behind the wheel was the infamous Marion "Suge" Knight.
Once called "the most feared man in hip-hop," as co-founder and CEO of Death Row Records, Knight helped define the West Coast rap scene of the 1990s.
With his ruthless kingpin image came allegations of very real criminal behavior: Violent shakedowns, brutal assaults, even murder.
On January 29, 2015, Knight struck two men with his truck [Warning: Graphic video] in Los Angeles, killing Terry Carter.
Was it all a terrible accident, or another example of a dangerous man's well-publicized rage?
Nekaya and Crystal Carter, Terry Carter's daughters, spoke about the case to Crime Watch Daily.
At the time of his death, Carter was trying to do what some might consider impossible -- negotiate a peace between Suge Knight and his old associates, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube.
By now, millions of people have seen the NBC-Universal biopic "Straight Outta Compton," documenting the rise and fall of rap group N.W.A.
Less well-known was the real-life drama reportedly going on behind the scenes between Knight and the movie's producers Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. Word on the street was that Knight was not happy with his violent portrayal in scenes in the film.
With his deep ties to the hip-hop community and known skills as a mediator, Terry Carter seemed to be the ideal man to broker a peace.
But before he'd ever get the chance, a deadly series of events were set in motion.
On January 29, Dre and Cube were in Compton shooting a short commercial for the movie when Suge Knight showed up on set in his truck.
According to witness testimony, Knight was stopped by security, then got into a "verbal altercation" with one of the film's advisers, an ex-gang member Knight knew well: Cle "Bone" Sloan.
After that, Knight drove off, and according to at least one report, again reached out to Carter to arrange a meeting, a parlay Carter readily agreed to.
A short time later, a surveillance camera captures Knight bright-red Ford F-150 pulling into a parking lot. And then chaos.
Suddenly, Sloan runs out of the shadows, apparently ready to continue the fight. Then, as Sloan and Knight trade blows through the driver's side window, Knight hits reverse, and Sloan is thrown to the ground. Then Carter steps in, but he's run over by Knight's truck.
Terry Carter, the playmaker, the peacekeeper, a real man with a family, was killed.
Sloan, though badly injured after being run over twice, survived.
Suge Knight is currently sitting in jail awaiting trial for what prosecutors claim is his part in the fatal hit and run.
"So far the people we've talked to said it looked intentional, and we're handling it as a homicide," said L.A. County Sheriff's Lt. John Corina.
Knight has pleaded not guilty of any wrongdoing, and so far, his various lawyers are claiming self-defense.
A judge set Knight's bail at an astronomical $10 million.
In addition to the murder case against Knight, Carter's family is pursuing civil action against him, the producers of the film, and other parties they feel responsible for the tragic circumstances.
Regardless of how the civil suit is resolved, if convicted on criminal charges, it will be Marion Knight's third felony, and under California's "three-strike" rule, he could go to prison for life.
But the fact that Knight even has a future to contemplate is a luxury taken from Terry Carter, at rest, but not yet in peace -- not until, his family says, justice has been done.
