LAS VEGAS — The killing of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur has been a mystery for decades; now the man accused of orchestrating the 1996 shooting near the Las Vegas Strip is on trial.
Family members of the famed rapper were among supporters who gathered outside a Las Vegas courthouse Monday morning for the beginning of jury selection, which could continue through much of this week.
“Whoever had anything to do with it, whoever set it up, whoever had any hand in it should be locked up in prison,” said Shakur’s cousin, Kendrick Lesane.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty to one charge of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in Shakur’s death. At the time, Davis was a leader of the South Side Compton Crips.
Wearing a blue dress shirt and tie, Davis sat quietly next to his attorney Monday while Nevada Judge Carli Kierny asked a group of 75 potential jurors whether they have any medical issues, language barriers or conflicts with serving.
The trial, scheduled to last about a month, will bring to light the circumstances surrounding one of the hip-hop world’s defining moments. Shakur, who also went by the stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, is considered one of the most influential rappers of all time.
Shakur was in a BMW on Sept. 7, 1996, with music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight when a white Cadillac pulled up beside them at a red light. Gunfire erupted. Shakur, who was in the passenger seat, was shot multiple times and died six days later, while Knight survived.
The case went cold until recent years, when public statements and a tell-all memoir from Davis in 2019 revived it. He was arrested in 2023.
Trial is unlikely to answer who killed Tupac Shakur
Inside the courtroom at Clark County District Court, seats for the public are in short supply, with a daily lottery for a chance to get inside.
Binu Palal, the county’s chief deputy district attorney, told potential jurors they were in court for a murder trial involving Shakur. He began listing names of people involved in the case to see if potential jurors were familiar them, including Knight and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Prosecutors are not accusing Davis of pulling the trigger that night, and the trial likely won’t confirm who did. Instead, prosecutors plan to show that Davis made the calls that led to Shakur’s death and provided the gun.
Davis co-wrote a memoir “Compton Street Legends,” which describes his role in the shooting. The book says that Davis obtained a handgun from an associate and tossed it into the back seat of the Cadillac but did not say who fired the fatal shots.
Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, Davis’ nephew, has long been considered the suspect who pulled the trigger, but charges were never brought against him. He died two years after Shakur’s death in an unrelated gang shootout in Compton, California.
Two others -- Deandrae “Freaky” Smith and Terry “Bubble Up” Brown -- were in the car with Davis and Anderson, but they have since died as well.
Who is expected to testify in Las Vegas trial
Prosecutors expect to call between 35 and 45 witnesses, ranging from people who saw Shakur moments before he was shot to those who were in both Shakur and Davis’ orbits at the time.
The witness list includes former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and members of Shakur’s family. However, not everyone on the list will necessarily testify.
Leonard Jefferson, a California resident who pulled up next to the BMW and snapped a photograph, which became the last known photo of Shakur, is expected to testify.
Prosecutors also expect to call Denvonta Lee, who was affiliated with the South Side Crips.
In grand jury testimony, Lee said that rival gangs, the Crips and Mob Piru, were tied to dueling record labels Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records.
Though he wasn’t there that night, Lee also testified that Anderson didn’t have a clear shot, so Smith took the gun and did the shooting. He also said Davis was in charge and gave the gun to Anderson, who gave it to Smith.
The witness list includes others who previously testified to the grand jury, including Malcolm Greenidge, a friend of Shakur’s who was traveling in his entourage that night. Reggie Wright, who grew up in Compton and did security for Death Row Records, is also expected to testify.
But other witnesses will be new, including a former member of Death Row’s security team and a former member of Mob Piru who was at Club 662 the night Shakur was shot.
Witnesses also include former police officers and detectives, as well as gang experts.
Davis’ defence attorney is expected to call fewer than a handful of witnesses, including one expert in the area of false confessions and coercive interrogation techniques.
Celebrities could be at the Tupac trial
One of the potential witnesses is in a California prison. Knight is serving a 28-year prison sentence in California for running over and killing a Compton businessman in January 2015. He previously said he would not testify in Davis’ case.
As the only other living eyewitness who was in one of the two vehicles that night, Knight’s testimony could make or break the case.
Davis’ defence attorney Michael Sanft told The Associated Press that Knight would be a good witness for Davis’ defence if he did testify.
Fans have also speculated whether Combs will testify, but his name isn’t on any witness lists. He is serving a four-year prison sentence in New Jersey following his conviction of prostitution-related charges.
In his book, Davis alleged Combs wanted Knight and Shakur dead and offered Davis money to kill them. Combs has long denied any involvement.
Jessica Hill, The Associated Press
Associated Press writer John Seewer contributed to this report from Toledo, Ohio.