In a remote appearance in court on Wednesday, Death Row Records founder Suge Knight testified about the “Murder Burger” incident that saw him kill one man and injure another.
The 57-year-old former music executive, who is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence in connection with the 2015 incident, testified as part of the wrongful death lawsuit brought against him by the victim’s family. Knight was originally charged with murder when he mowed down local businessman Terry Carter on Jan. 29, 2015, but the charge was lowered to voluntary manslaughter in 2018 as part of a plea deal. Knight was attempting to get a meeting with Dr. Dre the day of the incident over conversations relating to the biopic Straight Outta Compton.
As Rolling Stone reported, Knight has claimed that he was informed that Dr. Dre ordered a hit on him in 2014, when he was shot seven times outside of a party hosted by Chris Brown. However, he testified that he did not believe it, because of his history with Dre.
“Dr. Dre—we’ve been really good friends for years. Matter of fact, I know his kids, he knows my kids. And I was told that he had paid some guys to harm me,” Knight testified. “I didn’t believe it because authorities do lie. So I went up there. …I was going to talk to him and say, ‘Hey man, I’m not going to react to what authorities say about you having something to do with me getting shot. I just want to make you aware they are saying this, putting it out there.’”
He fought back against accusations that he went to the production offices that day over issues with the movie’s script, or demands for money over the use of his likeness, and that he actually wanted a meeting over the hitmen allegations he was told about by police. He said he was told at the time that Dre and co-producer Ice Cube were too “busy” to meet with him, but as he was leaving someone “caught up” and said, “Hey, Cube wants you to come [back] because we’ve been trying to catch you to take care of you.”
When he informed the person that he did not want to wait around for long, a member of the movie’s security team named Cle “Bone” Sloan got “aggressive” over a joke Knight told. At this point, he said he noticed someone try to put something on his windshield. When asked if he was served the restraining order Dre allegedly issued against him, Knight testified, “No, never.”
After this, he said he left the office and got a call from his friend, whom he identified as Carter. He agreed to meet at the home of Dwayne “Knob” Johnson, who lived across the street from the burger restaurant, Tam’s Burgers in Compton. When he drove his car next to Carter’s vehicle, he said he was met with an armed ambush. Knight added that Sloan then jumped over a wheel near the parking area of the restaurant with a gun in his hand, and started to punch him through his car’s open window.
He said he “feared for his life,” and that he acted in self-defense when he accelerated toward Carter and Sloan, hitting them both.
"You want this jury to believe that Bone Sloan was there to kill you, and he had a gun that he intended to use to kill you, but instead of using that gun, he decided to throw punches. Is that true?” asked attorney Lance Behringer, who represents Carter's widow and his two daughters. "That’s not true at all," replied Knight. "The truth is this: Tam’s is called ‘Murder Burger’ for a reason. One thing we all know is, you can’t do anything by the area of Tam’s because of the cameras. …Nobody pulled their gun out by Tam’s. Everyone knows there’s cameras. Ask anybody, they call Tam’s ‘Murder Burger.’ Lots of people who didn’t know they have cameras there, they’re still in prison today.”
Knight said that he didn’t believe the two intended to kill him because “I hadn’t done anything wrong to these guys, for them to want to kill me.” He added, though, that there “was a contract,” although it’s unclear what he meant.
