Tupac Shakur murder trial begins as prosecutors detail 'act of revenge' that killed rap icon
Almost 30 years after the drive-by shooting that shook the music world, the murder trial of the man accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur has officially opened in Las Vegas.
Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, appeared in a Clark County courtroom on Monday, where he faces a charge of murder with a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement.
Members of Shakur’s family, including his stepbrother Maurice "Mopreme" Shakur, sat in the front row as opening statements began - which recounted the heartbreaking circumstances surrounding the rapper's death.
Prosecutors alleged that Davis was the "shot-caller" and "on-the-ground commander" behind the fatal shooting on September 7, 1996.
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Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal showed the jury security footage of Shakur and Death Row Records associates attacking Davis' nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, in the lobby of the MGM Grand earlier that night.
It was this, prosecutors allege, that prompted Davis to seek a fatal revenge for the assault.
"On September 7, 1996, Tupac Shakur publicly, on camera, participated in a humiliating beating of Duane Davis' nephew, Orlando Anderson," Palal told jurors.
"Then, two and a half hours later... Tupac is gunned down in a drive-by shooting from a white Cadillac in an act of revenge.
"Let's be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew. Remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself."
Defense calls case 'Fiction'
Davis, the only surviving person who was inside the white Cadillac that pulled up next to Shakur and Suge Knight, has pleaded not guilty.
Defense attorney Michael Sanft pushed back against the state's reliance on Davis' 2019 memoir and past interviews, urging jurors to distinguish between self-promotion and hard facts.
"At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself: is what they are saying truth or fiction?" Sanft told the court, arguing that Davis was prone to exaggeration and co-authored his book for financial gain rather than historical accuracy.
First Witnesses Take the Stand
The trial moved swiftly on Monday afternoon with testimony from key witnesses being heard by the jury.
Among the witnesses called to the stand was Garry Dale, a retired Las Vegas police officer who pulled over Suge Knight and Shakur just hours before the shooting for driving without a rear license plate, describing the interaction as calm and routine.
Yet just two hours later Dale was called to the scene of a shooting, and upon arrival witnessed Shakur being dragged out of a vehicle by first responders having been shot.
Once Shakur was in the ambulance, Dale hopped into the back and asked him who had shot him, but said the rapper allegedly declined to give a name and uttered something like ‘no, we’ll take care of it’, Stuff reports.
A second witness, Ingrid Stokes also testified on the first day of the trial. Stokes was an eyewitness whose vehicle was traveling near Shakur’s car toward Club 662 when gunfire broke out.
"We heard the gunshots... all hell broke loose," she told the court, describing how her car swerved away in panic.
The trial is expected to continue for several weeks.
Topics: Crime, Celebrity, US News, Tupac Shakur
Phoebe Tonks