Suge Knight Hands Himself In Over Hit-And-Run

The Death Row Records founder's lawyer says he was "trying to escape" after an argument broke out on a film set in Compton.

Rap mogul Suge Knight is being interviewed by police after being named as a suspect in a hit-and-run that killed a man in southern Los Angeles.

Two men were hit by a red truck belonging to Knight in the car park of a fast-food restaurant in Compton after an argument apparently broke out.

A 55-year-old man died in hospital and a 51-year-old man was injured.

Lt John Corina of Los Angeles County Sheriff's office said: "As they were arguing, the driver of the red pickup truck ends up running over a couple people in the parking lot over here. And then taking off.

"We know, as everyone's been reporting, that it was Suge Knight that was involved in this.

"So far, we have not confirmed it was him driving the truck."

However, Knight's attorney James Blatt said the Death Row Records founder "was in the process of being physically assaulted by two men and in an effort to escape he unfortunately hit two (other) individuals." 

The lawyer added: "He was in his car trying to escape."

Mr Blatt said he was "confident that once the investigation is completed, he will be totally exonerated".

Knight later arrived at a police station in West Hollywood to meet officers.

Celebrity news website TMZ reported Knight had got into a fight with two men on the set of a film project - also starring Ice Cube and Dr Dre.

Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt John Corina said the collision was being investigated as a homicide.

"Looks like he drove backwards and struck the victims and drove forwards and struck them again," Lt Corina said.

"The people we've talked to say it looked like it was an intentional act. So we're handling it as a homicide."

The empty truck was found in a car park in West Los Angeles some hours later.

Death Row Records, which Knight launched with Dr Dre in the early 1990s, helped launch stars such as Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur.

However, the label collapsed in 1996 when Knight was jailed for probation violations.

He ended up in jail again, this time for 10 months, in 2003, after allegedly getting into a fight outside a Hollywood nightclub.

Last August, he was shot six times inside a Los Angeles nightclub.

In November, he pleaded not guilty to a robbery charge filed over an incident in which a celebrity photographer accused him of stealing her camera in Beverly Hills. Because of prior convictions, he could face up to 30 years in prison.