The murder trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the only person formally charged in connection with the 1996 killing of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur, has begun in Las Vegas.
During opening arguments, prosecutors told jurors that Davis orchestrated the shooting as an act of revenge following a confrontation earlier that night at the MGM Grand.
According to prosecutors, Tupac and members of his entourage had assaulted Davis' nephew, Orlando Anderson, during the confrontation. Prosecutors allege that Davis subsequently helped organize a retaliation attack and provided the firearm used in the shooting.
Tupac was shot in a drive-by attack on September 7, 1996, while riding in a BMW driven by Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight. He died six days later at the age of 25.
Davis, now 63, has pleaded not guilty. Importantly, prosecutors are not accusing him of being the gunman; their case is that he helped orchestrate and facilitate the killing. The identity of the person who actually fired the fatal shots remains a disputed issue.
The prosecution is expected to rely heavily on statements Davis made over the years, including comments in interviews and his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend. His defense has argued that those statements should not be treated as reliable admissions.
The trial could last several weeks and is being closely watched around the world because Tupac's killing has remained one of hip-hop's most enduring mysteries for nearly three decades.
Nearly 30 years later, the courtroom is finally hearing the prosecution's version of what happened to Tupac.
Was it revenge—or is there more to the story?
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