Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was killed in Las Vegas, the man accused over his death, Duane "Keffe D" Davis, has gone on trial. The 63-year-old faces one count of murder with use of a deadly weapon, with the charge also alleging the killing was carried out to promote, further or assist a gang. Davis has pleaded not guilty.
The trial is being held in Las Vegas before Judge Carli Kierny and is expected to last about a month. Jury selection began on Monday, August 10, and is expected to take several days before opening statements and witness testimony begin. Tupac's death had remained one of hip-hop's biggest unsolved mysteries for years.
The 1996 shooting
Tupac Shakur, also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was shot in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996. That night he was riding in a black BMW with music producer and Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight, heading to Club 662, where he was due to perform.
A white Cadillac pulled up alongside their car and shots were fired. Tupac, who was in the passenger seat, was hit by multiple bullets. Knight survived, but the rapper died of his injuries six days later at age 25.
No arrest was made for years. But public statements by Davis, along with a book in which he described his own version of events, eventually gave the investigation a new direction. Davis was arrested in 2023.
One of the central features of the trial is that prosecutors are not arguing Davis was the person who shot Tupac. Instead, they are expected to try to prove he organized the attack and supplied the weapon used.
Davis co-wrote part of the book "Compton Street Legends," in which he described his role in the attack. According to the book, Davis took a pistol from an associate and tossed it into the back seat of the Cadillac, though he did not say who ultimately shot Tupac.
For years, Davis's nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, was considered the prime suspect as the shooter, but he was never charged over the killing. Anderson was killed in 1998, two years after Tupac's death, in an unrelated gang incident in Compton, California. Also in the Cadillac that night were Deandrae "Freaky" Smith and Terry "Bubble Up" Brown, both of whom have also since died.
Witnesses expected to testify
Prosecutors are expected to call between 35 and 45 witnesses. The list includes people who saw Tupac shortly before the shooting, people who were in his and Davis's circle at the time, former police officers and detectives, and gang experts.
Potential witnesses include former Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman, members of Tupac's family, and Leonard Jefferson, who pulled up alongside the rapper's BMW in his own car and took a photograph considered the last known picture of Tupac before his death.
Denvonta Lee, who had ties to the South Side Crips, is also expected to testify. In grand jury testimony, Lee said the rival Crips and Mob Piru gangs were linked to the rival record labels Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records.
Lee was not at the scene of the shooting, but he testified that Anderson did not have a clear line of sight to fire and that Smith was the one who ultimately used the weapon. According to his testimony, Davis was in control of the situation and handed the gun to Anderson, who then passed it to Smith.
The witness list also includes Malcolm Greenidge, a friend of Tupac who was with his group that night, and Reggie Wright, who grew up in Compton and had worked in security for Death Row Records.
Suge Knight and Diddy
Whether Suge Knight will testify is drawing particular attention. Knight was the only living eyewitness who was inside one of the two cars at the moment of the attack. He is currently serving a 28-year sentence in a California prison over the 2015 death of a Compton businessman he struck with his car.
Knight has previously said he will not testify in the Davis case. Still, his testimony could carry significant weight, since he is one of the few people who were present inside the BMW that night. Davis's lawyer, Michael Sanft, told the Associated Press that Knight would make a good witness for his client's defense, should he ultimately testify.
There has also been intense discussion over whether Sean "Diddy" Combs could be called as a witness. Combs is serving a four-year sentence in a New Jersey prison following his conviction on prostitution-related offenses. In his book, Davis claimed Combs wanted Knight and Tupac dead and had offered him money to kill them. Combs has denied for years any involvement in Tupac's murder. Diddy's name does not appear on the witness list, and it remains unclear whether he could testify.
