Who was involved: Suge Knight the Former Death Row Records CEO is already facing murder charges stemming from 2015 incident.
Suge Knight pleaded not guilty to charges of threatening Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray Thursday, the latest in his long string of run-ins with the law.
Knight, who is already facing murder charges stemming from a 2015 episode, allegedly directed threats of death or bodily injury toward Gray in August 2014, one year before the release of Gray’s 2015 biopic about rap group N.W.A. According to the grand jury indictment, Gray feared for his life after his interaction with Knight.
“It is further alleged that the threatened crime, on its face and under the circumstances in which it was made, was so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate and specific as to convey to Felix Gary Gray a gravity of purpose and an immediate prospect of execution,” the indictment read. “It is further alleged that the said Felix Gary Gray was reasonably in sustained fear of his safety and the safety of his immediate family.”
What does Suge Knight’s Team say: Representatives of Knight have expressed dissatisfaction with his portrayal in Straight Outta Compton in the past, claiming the film’s depiction of the former rap mogul was “exaggerated and silly and ridiculous.” (In the movie, as in real life, Dr. Dre leaves N.W.A after hiring Knight as his manager, and the pair start Death Row Records together
What happens now: Knight is due back in court on August 10th.
At present, Knight is being held in prison as he awaits trial for the 2015 murder charges, to which he has also pleaded not guilty.
In January 2015, the former rap mogul allegedly ran over two men in a parking lot in Compton, California, killing one and seriously maiming the other. Knight turned himself in shortly afterward, but his attorney insisted that the incident was unintentional.
His trial date has been set for January 2018.
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