The long-awaited trial of the man accused of orchestrating the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur has opened in Las Vegas, with prosecutors telling jurors that the killing was an act of revenge.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, is charged with murder with a deadly weapon, with an allegation that the offence was committed to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. He has pleaded not guilty and faces life in prison if convicted.
In opening arguments, Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors that Shakur had been involved in the public beating of Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, on 7 September 1996. Prosecutors allege that Shakur was shot in a drive-by attack roughly two and a half hours later as an act of retaliation.
Palal said Davis did not fire the weapon himself but allegedly handed a gun to a passenger in the back seat of a white Cadillac and instructed him to shoot Shakur.
The prosecution also argues that Davis’ own statements over the years are central to the case. Investigators questioned him about the killings of Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., and Davis later described his alleged involvement in a book and media interviews. Prosecutors say those public statements helped revive the Las Vegas investigation.
The defence strongly disputes the prosecution’s account. Davis’ lawyer, Michael Sanft, described the State’s narrative as “fiction” and questioned why Davis was not charged earlier if investigators had sufficient evidence against him.
Sanft also challenged the reliability of Davis’ 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, arguing that it was written partly for financial gain and that it is unclear which sections were written by Davis and which were contributed by co-author Yusuf Jah.
The trial is expected to last several weeks. Prosecutors plan to call between 35 and 45 potential witnesses, while the defence is expected to call only a small number.
The first witnesses included retired Las Vegas police officers who described the events surrounding the shooting. Former officer Garry Dale told the court that police had stopped the vehicle carrying Shakur and Marion “Suge” Knight shortly before the shooting because it did not have a licence plate. Officers allowed them to continue after issuing a warning.
About 10 minutes later, police responded to reports of a shooting and found emergency medical personnel attending to Shakur. Dale said Knight had suffered a graze wound, while Shakur was taken for emergency treatment.
The 1996 killing remained unsolved for decades and no one was charged until Davis was indicted in 2023. Shakur, who died aged 25, went on to become one of the most influential figures in hip-hop and was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
For Shakur’s family, the proceedings represent a long-awaited opportunity for accountability. His stepbrother Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur said the trial would be retraumatising for the family but that it was important for them to attend.
The prosecution now faces the task of persuading jurors that Davis’ alleged role in the shooting can be established beyond a reasonable doubt, while the defence is expected to challenge the reliability of the evidence gathered nearly three decades after Shakur’s death.