Tupac Murder Trial Begins 30 Years Later

The trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who is accused of orchestrating the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, has begun in Las Vegas. In his opening statement to the jury, prosecutor Binu Palal said that Davis, now 63, orchestrated the drive-by shooting in retaliation for an altercation at the MGM Grand casino, where Shakur and members of his entourage had beaten up Davis’s nephew.

The casino brawl allegedly stemmed from hostility between two rival Los Angeles-area gangs – the South Side Compton Crips, which Davis led, and Mob Piru, which was associated with Suge Knight and Death Row Records.

According to prosecutors, Davis obtained the murder weapon and handed it to one of two men in the back seat of a white Cadillac. Shakur was shot four times and died from his injuries six days later. Davis has pleaded not guilty.

The case remained unsolved for years, with investigators saying they lacked sufficient admissible evidence to charge Davis. The investigation was revived after Davis began publicly discussing his involvement in 2018. In interviews and his 2019 memoir, he said he had been riding in the front passenger seat of the Cadillac and had handed the gun to one of the men behind him. Under Nevada law, Davis can be convicted of murder if prosecutors prove he participated in the crime, even if he did not fire the fatal shots.

(Reuters, Max)