Dennis RomeroSuge Knight reportedly complained of chest pain after he pleaded not guilty to suspicion of murder today. That prompted authorities to rush him to a hospital, a sheriff's official said.
Knight's lawyer, David Kenner, told us, “I think he's doing well.”
It didn't appear to be a heart attack or anything serious, he indicated.
Forty-nine-year-old Knight was charged yesterday with suspicion of murder, attempted murder and “two counts of hit-and-run with an allegation that he committed a serious and violent felony while out on bail,” the L.A. County District Attorney's Office said in a statement.
After his appearance in Compton Superior Court, Knight was hospitalized. It happened so fast that Kenner said he had already left the courtroom.
A sheriff's spokeswoman said, “He had an medical emergency and was transported to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment.”
The charges stem from a reported run-in Thursday afternoon between Knight, who was in a red pickup at Tam's Burgers in Compton, and Cle “Bone” Sloan, an actor best known for his role in Training Day.
Credit: Pool photo by Paul Buck/European Pressphoto Agency
Stories of what happened vary.
Some reports state that Knight was summoned to Tam's for a peace summit only to be attacked by as many as four men. That scenario spins the collision as an accident that occurred as Knight was trying to get away in the truck.
Others say Knight simply had beef with Sloan, who reportedly was working security at a promotional shoot for the film Straight Outta Compton when Knight was shooed off earlier in the day.
In any case, 55-year-old Terry Carter, a sometime actor and reported friend of Knight's, was struck by the truck and died, authorities said.
Sheriff's officials seemed to indicate they think Knight's actions were intentional, even if Carter wasn't the alleged target.
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