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Knight ordered to stand trial, taken to hospital

LOS ANGELES

Former rap-music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight was hospitalized again Thursday after a judge ordered him to stand trial on murder and attempted murder charges filed after he ran over two men in a parking lot.

Knight’s condition and the cause of his latest health problem were not immediately known, but it was the fifth time the Death Row Records co-founder had been taken from a courthouse to a hospital during proceedings in the case.

The latest trip came after Superior Court Judge Ronald Coen rejected Knight’s argument that he acted in self-defense when he was viciously attacked by men outside a Compton burger stand.

Authorities contend Knight intentionally hit the men, killing Terry Carter, 55, and injuring Cle “Bone” Sloan.

Knight’s attorney, Matt Fletcher, argued that his client was ambushed and was trying to escape from Sloan when Knight ran down the men in the attack captured on security video.

“There’s no intent to kill,” Fletcher said in court while asking the judge to dismiss the case. “There’s an intent to survive.”

Judge Coen, however, said it appeared Knight, 49, wasn’t attempting to flee but instead was trying to kill someone when he accelerated forward in the truck.

The judge did throw out one of two hit-and-run counts, saying the charge applies to one event even if there are multiple victims. He also reduced bail from $25 million to $10 million.

Associated Press