One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Court Records Reveal The Extent Of Suge Knight's Threats Against 'Straight Outta Compton' Director
Suge Knight in court with his attorney. He is currently facing charges of murder and attempted murder. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Marion 'Suge' Knight allegedly made several terrifying threats to Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray during the film's shooting, according to court records obtained by the L.A. Times. Among the several threats was a text message that read "I will see u in person … u have kids just like me so let's play hardball."
Knight was indicted and arraigned for these alleged threats earlier this year, but the extent of the threats remained under wraps until Friday. According to the transcript of the indictment, prosecutors outlined several other alleged calls Gray received from Knight while on the set of Straight Outta Compton that left Gray extremely shaken and frightened. The records also show text messages Gary received, one of which referenced Knight's membership in the Mob Piru set of the Bloods street gang. "I'm a Blood criminal street gang member from the city of Compton … Time has arrived Faith in God keep ppl safe. The Devil's Money can't save No 1," read one text to Gray, according to the Times.
Gray was called to testify on the nature of these threats during the grand jury hearing in February, but consistently evaded answers or claimed to have forgotten any phone calls or text messages. At the time, Deputy Dist. Atty. Cynthia Barnes told the grand Jury that Gray was willingly perjuring himself "because he's that afraid," according to the records obtained by the Times. Despite Gray's minimal testimony, the grand jury went ahead with indicting Knight on a charge of threatening Gray's life.
Other testimonies revealed in the court documents include that of Los Angeles Police Det. Jason Cook, who responded on the Straight Outta Compton set the day Gary received the threats. According to Cook, Gary said Knight "threatened his family and members of the film crew and that he was angry over his portrayal."
Knight pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment in August, according to the New York Times.
Knight is already standing trial for murder and attempted murder after running over two men at a Compton burger stand in 2015. He has claimed to have been acting in self-defense, accusing Dr. Dre of paying a hitman to have him killed.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
