UPDATE: Rap mogul Suge Knight was charged Monday, Feb. 2, with murder, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced in a statement released to Us Weekly.
According to police, Knight was previously out on bail when he was reportedly involved in a deadly hit-and-run accident last week. The D.A.'s office announced that Knight has been charged with "one count of murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of hit-and-run with an allegation that he committed a serious and violent felony while out on bail in another pending case."
The news comes hours after it was revealed that Knight is being held without bail, as announced by the L.A. County Sheriff's Department early Monday, Feb. 2.
"Homicide Detectives petitioned the Bail Commissioner this morning to raise his bail amount from $2,000,000 to 'No Bail,'" the statement read. "This is due to a possible flight risk, 3 strike candidate, possible witness intimidation issues, and a criminal past."
Knight, the co-founder of Death Row Records, turned himself in to the police last Friday, Jan. 30, after reportedly running over and killing his friend Terry Carter the previous night with his pickup truck. In the frenzy, Knight also hit a man named Cle "Bone" Sloan, who was rushed to the hospital for non life-threatening injuries.
"The complaint includes use of a deadly weapon and causing great bodily injury allegations and that Knight has prior convictions, making this a third strike case," the L.A. County D.A.'s Office said Monday.
Knight's attorney James Blatt, however, has insisted that his client is innocent, and believes that no charges will be brought against Knight, 49. "We are confident that once the investigation is completed, he will be totally exonerated," Blatt said last week. "He was in the process of being physically assaulted by two men and in an effort to escape he unfortunately hit two (other) individuals. He was in his car trying to escape."
Authorities, however, say the evidence is stacked up against Knight. "[It] looks like he drove backwards and struck the victims and drove forwards and struck them again," L.A. County Sheriff Lt. John Corina told reporters about the Jan. 29 incident. "The people we talked to say it looked like it was an intentional act."
Knight is scheduled to appear in the Compton courthouse on Tuesday, Feb. 3. If convicted, he faces up to life in state prison.
