Suge Knight went to prison because he pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter for running over two men with his truck in 2015, killing one of them, Terry Carter, outside a burger stand in Compton, California. That 2018 plea deal resulted in a 28‑year state prison sentence, enhanced under California’s “three strikes” law due to his prior felony record.

2015 hit-and-run incident

In January 2015, Knight drove his pickup through a confrontation involving filmmaker Cle “Bone” Sloan and businessman Terry Carter near the set of the film “Straight Outta Compton.” Surveillance video and prosecutors’ filings described him backing his truck into Sloan, injuring him, and then accelerating forward and fatally striking Carter before leaving the scene.

Charges and plea deal

Prosecutors initially charged Knight with murder, attempted murder, and hit- and-run for using his truck as a deadly weapon during the altercation. In September 2018, he accepted a plea deal, admitting to one count of voluntary manslaughter and the special allegation of using a deadly weapon, which avoided a potential trial on the more serious murder charges.

Length of sentence

Voluntary manslaughter in this case carried an 11‑year base term, which was doubled to 22 years because of Knight’s prior serious felony convictions under California’s three‑strikes law. The court added six more years for sentence enhancements tied to the violent nature of the crime, bringing the total to 28 years in state prison, with parole eligibility currently projected for the mid‑2030s.

Earlier prison terms

Separate from the current 28‑year sentence, Knight had earlier periods of incarceration, including a nine‑year term beginning in 1997 for violating probation connected to an assault case. He also served additional time in the 2000s for parole violations involving assault and alleged gang‑related activity, contributing to a long history of criminal justice involvement before the 2015 case.