Tupac's murder trial begins nearly 30 years after rapper’s death

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Nearly three decades after rapper Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, the first person ever charged in connection with his murder is set to stand trial in Nevada.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, is accused of orchestrating the 1996 attack that killed Shakur. Prosecutors allege that Davis helped plan the shooting, although he is not accused of firing the fatal shots.

Shakur, 25, was riding in a vehicle with Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight when four men in a white Cadillac fired 13 shots at them. Knight was wounded, while Shakur suffered multiple gunshot wounds. He died in hospital six days later, on September 13, 1996.

Davis faces a charge of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. Under Nevada law, those who aid, encourage, hire, command or otherwise induce another person to commit a crime can be prosecuted as principals.

The case remained unsolved for years, although Davis later made public statements about Shakur’s killing. In 2019, he published a memoir, “Compton Street Legend”, in which he discussed the events surrounding the shooting and described himself as one of the few surviving eyewitnesses.

His public appearances promoting the memoir helped revive the investigation, according to Las Vegas police. Davis was arrested in 2023 and charged with obtaining a gun allegedly intended for retaliation after Shakur and his associates confronted Davis’s nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, following a boxing match at the MGM Grand.

Davis wrote in his memoir that he and three other men — Anderson, DeAndre “Dre” Smith and Terrence “T-Brown” Brown — later encountered Shakur in Las Vegas. All three men have since died.

Davis described handing a handgun toward the back of the Cadillac as they approached Shakur’s vehicle but did not identify who fired the fatal shots. It remains unclear whether Anderson or Smith fired the shots.

Davis’s lawyers have sought to distance him from parts of the memoir, arguing that co-writer Yusuf Jah exaggerated events and included false information to boost sales. They have also argued that the book was intended as entertainment.

However, Clark County District Judge Carli Kierny ruled that the memoir could be used as evidence, noting that Davis had presented it as revealing the truth rather than as fiction.

Davis’s defence has also challenged the use of statements he made to law enforcement in 2008, citing an agreement that allegedly prevented those statements from being used against him. The judge has raised concerns about the protections surrounding the interview but acknowledged that Davis made the statements voluntarily.

Davis has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment without parole.

The jury selected last week consists of six men and 10 women, including four alternates. Davis is being represented by attorney Michael Sanft, who is handling the case pro bono, while Marc DiGiacomo is leading the prosecution.

Among the potential witnesses is Knight, who is serving a 28-year prison sentence in California after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the 2015 death of Heavyweight Records owner Terry Carter. Knight has said he would not testify.

Members of Shakur’s family, including his sister Sekyiwa Shakur and stepbrother Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur, are also listed as potential witnesses.

Prosecutors are expected to call between 35 and 45 witnesses, with the trial projected to continue for four to five weeks.