Nearly three decades after the fatal shooting of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur, the long-running mystery surrounding his death has finally reached a courtroom.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a 63-year-old former California street gang leader, is on trial in Las Vegas over the September 1996 killing of Shakur. Davis faces one count of murder with a deadly weapon and has pleaded not guilty.
Shakur was 25 when he was shot in a drive-by attack on the Las Vegas Strip on September 7, 1996. He died six days later from his injuries.
Prosecutors say Davis organised the attack
During opening arguments, prosecutors alleged that Davis was the ringleader who organised the attack after his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, was involved in a fight with Shakur earlier that night at the MGM Grand.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo said Davis was in a white Cadillac with three other men when they spotted Shakur and Death Row Records boss Marion “Suge” Knight travelling in another vehicle.
According to prosecutors, the Cadillac made a U-turn and pulled alongside Shakur’s car. They allege Davis, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, handed a firearm to someone in the back seat.
The prosecution alleges that Anderson then opened fire on Shakur’s vehicle.
Prosecutors also say much of their case relies on statements Davis made over the years, including accounts in interviews and his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend.
They told jurors that Davis had previously described being inside the Cadillac and claimed he handed the gun used in the shooting to Anderson.
Defence challenges prosecution’s case
Davis’s defence attorney, Michael Sanft, urged jurors to question whether the prosecution’s version of events represents “fact or fiction.”
Sanft argued that several prosecution witnesses are unreliable and claimed some have criminal records, financial motives or have given inconsistent accounts.
He also attacked the police investigation, alleging that investigators made mistakes, failed to preserve important records and pursued the case in a biased or incomplete manner.
The defence further questioned the handling and testing of the alleged murder weapon and argued that crucial leads deteriorated as the investigation remained unsolved for decades.
Davis maintains that the allegations against him are false and that the book and other statements being used by prosecutors do not establish that he orchestrated Shakur’s murder.
Witness describes the night of the shooting
The prosecution’s first witnesses included former Las Vegas police officer Garry Dale, who recalled encountering Shakur and Knight earlier that night.
Dale testified that he stopped a black BMW because it did not have a licence plate. The occupants identified themselves as Tupac Shakur and Marion Knight.
Dale said he later encountered the same vehicle after the shooting and saw Knight outside while emergency medical personnel were removing Shakur from the car.
He recalled Shakur bleeding from injuries and said the rapper was still conscious and speaking while being transported to hospital.
Another witness, Ingrid Stokes, told the court she and her friends were driving around Las Vegas that night when they encountered Shakur and Knight.
She said they later became aware of another vehicle following them.
Stokes recalled that she and her friends had stopped and were changing drivers when they heard gunshots.
“We heard the gunshots. All hell broke loose,” she told the court.
A murder that changed hip-hop history
Tupac Shakur remains one of the most influential and commercially successful figures in hip-hop history.
Born in New York, Shakur built his career on the US West Coast and released major albums including 2Pacalypse Now and All Eyez on Me.
His songs addressed poverty, inequality, violence, relationships and life in America’s inner cities. Hits such as “California Love,” “Changes” and “All Eyez on Me” helped establish him as one of the defining artists of his generation.
His death at just 25 sparked decades of speculation, conspiracy theories and unanswered questions.
For almost 30 years, no one had been charged in connection with the killing.
That changed in September 2023 when Davis was arrested near his Las Vegas home and charged with Shakur’s murder.
Trial could finally provide answers
The trial is expected to examine the events leading up to the shooting, the alleged gang rivalry, the fight involving Anderson and Shakur, and Davis’s own accounts of what happened.
Davis is the only person ever charged in connection with Shakur’s murder.
The prosecution must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Davis remains presumed innocent unless and until a jury finds him guilty.
With the trial now underway, the world is watching to see whether the courtroom proceedings can finally provide answers to one of hip-hop’s most enduring mysteries.
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