Judge Rejects Motion To Dismiss Suge Knight Murder Charges

The Death Row Records co-founder was slapped with counts of murder and attempted murder earlier this year (15) after he was involved in a fatal hit-and-run incident on a California film set in January (15).

One of the two victims, actor Cle 'Bone' Sloan, told police investigating the crime that Knight was the man behind the wheel of the vehicle which ran him over and killed mutual friend Terry Carter, but he refused to officially identify the fallen music boss during a preliminary hearing in April (15) to avoid being labelled a "snitch".

Knight's new attorney, Thomas Mesereau - the same man who successfully defended Michael Jackson against child molestation allegations in 2005 - cited Sloan's failure to point out Knight in court as reason enough to throw out the charges, while he also questioned Sloan's credibility amid concerns he was continually changing his story.

Mesereau also maintained his client had been ambushed as Sloan had repeatedly punching Knight through the window of his pick-up truck moments before the hit-and-run and he was trying to get away when he knocked over the two men.

However, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephen A. Marcus ruled on Thursday (07Jul15) there was still enough evidence for the murder case to go to trial, and noted, "(Sloan) doesn't say that it's not him (Knight)."

Marcus claims years of bad blood between the two men led to the fight which occurred prior to the fatal accident, declaring, "The only person who had a motive (to run the men over) was Suge Knight."

Knight, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, is currently being held on $10 million (£6.25 million) bail. Mesereau is planning to seek a reduction in the bond amount.