Former rap mogul Marion ‘Suge’ Knight will serve 28 years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to voluntary manslaughter.
The co-founder of Death Row Records was facing life behind bars for running over Terry Carter with his pickup truck in January 2015 in Compton, California. Knight was charged with murder, attempted murder and hit-and-run after fleeing the scene.
Under the terms of the plea deal – which came just as jury selection was scheduled to begin – Knight, 53, will serve 22 years in prison on the count and six additional years because it was his third-strike violation. (Knight has convictions for armed robbery and assault with a gun.)
Lawyers for Knight said their client, who was involved in a fight with Carter earlier, was acting in self-defence because he was trying to escape armed attackers.
Knight will be formally sentenced on Oct. 4.