‘Suge’ Knight’ to Stand Trial on Murder, Attempted Murder Charges

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Marion 'Suge' Knight in court February 3, 2015. File photo by Paul Buck/UPI

‘Suge’ Knight’ to Stand Trial on Murder, Attempted Murder Charges

Marion 'Suge' Knight in court February 3, 2015. File photo by Paul Buck/UPI
Marion ‘Suge’ Knight in court February 3, 2015. File photo by Paul Buck/UPI

LOS ANGELES, April 16 (L.A. Times) —  A Los Angeles County judge ruled Thursday morning that there was enough evidence for former rap mogul Marion ‘Suge’ Knight to stand trial on murder and attempted murder charges for allegedly plowing his truck into two people in a Compton restaurant parking lot earlier this year, reports the L.A. Times. 

Superior Court Judge Ronald Coen made the ruling at the end of a preliminary hearing in which the surviving alleged victim recanted portions of his statements to investigators implicating Knight and repeatedly claimed not to remember details about the incident.

Cle ‘Bone’ Sloan, an actor and filmmaker who describes himself as “a nonactive gang member,” testified Monday that he could not recall many of the details surrounding the Jan. 29 incident in which he was run over.

Sloan, 51, was knocked unconscious and suffered serious injuries to his legs and head. A second man, Terry Carter, was run over and killed.

The hearing highlighted what legal experts say is a common occurrence in the justice system: recantations among witnesses, including those who were the victims of violent crimes.

Victims and witnesses — particularly when gangs are involved — often fear being labeled as “snitches,” concerned that it could lead to retaliation or would violate an unwritten code against cooperating with police, said defense attorney James Cooper, who has represented gang members.

For many, the reluctance to testify extends to cases against rival gang members and often remains even after someone has left a gang, he said.

“They have a creed,” Cooper said. “They do not cooperate with the prosecution of a gang member, even if he’s from a rival gang. It’s just a rule: They don’t cooperate.”

When a prosecutor asked Sloan in court this week about details he previously provided investigators about an argument with Knight in the hours leading up to the killing, he testified that “it’s all a blur.” He cried on the witness stand when he was confronted with transcripts of an interview he gave sheriff’s detectives about the fatal encounter with Knight.

“I don’t want it to get misconstrued that I told on this man,” he said, pointing at Knight, who sat quietly in court wearing orange jail scrubs. “I’m no snitch …. I will not be used to send Suge Knight to prison.”
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Sloan also did not identify Knight in court.

“Yes, I know Mr. Knight,” Sloan said, glancing at the cofounder of Death Row Records, “but that does not look like Mr. Knight.”

Prosecutors have not filed a gang allegation with the current charges against Knight, but they submitted a document with a bail motion in which a sheriff’s homicide sergeant identifies Knight as a Bloods gang member.

Asked on Wednesday why he thought his client had testified to something different from what he told detectives, Sloan’s attorney, Stephen Bernard said, “God, I wish I knew.”

Prosecutors have worked out a reliable strategy for dealing with witnesses who recant, a problem that is so common that it has become “just part of the fabric of the system,” said former Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley.

Playing audio from recorded statements with investigators that contradict the witness’ testimony is often effective, Cooley said, as is having a detective testify about what the witness previously said.

Last month, Knight collapsed in court after bail was set at $25 million. The 49-year-old music producer fell to the ground unconscious after the judge announced the sum and was taken to a jail hospital ward.

 

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