Suge Knight Pleads Not Guilty To Threatening Director Of 'Straight Outta Compton'

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Former rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight pleaded not guilty to a charge of threatening the director of the film "Straight Outta Compton."

Knight, who appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, was ordered to return for a hearing on Aug. 10.

Knight, 52, was indicted in February for allegedly threatening Felix Gary Gray, who directed the hit film. He was reportedly unhappy with how the movie – which chronicled the rise of the rap group N.W. A. – portrayed him and allegedly sent Gray a threatening text message on Aug. 8, 2014.

Knight is separately charged with murder, attempted murder and hit-and-run for allegedly killing 55-year-old Terry Carter and injuring Cle "Bone" Sloan on Jan. 29, 2015, by running them down with a pickup truck in the parking lot of Tam's Burgers in the 1200 block of West Rosecrans Avenue.

He is awaiting trial separately along with comedian Micah "Katt" Williams in a case charging the two with stealing a camera from a female paparazzo in September 2014.

Prosecutors have repeatedly cited Knight's violent history, stating in court papers filed last year that he "has been a violent, unrepentant criminal for over 30 years." They have said his past shows "utter contempt for the judicial system and human life."

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)