All eyez on Tupac: Long-awaited trial begins in rapper’s 1996 killing

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Opening statements are set to begin Monday in the trial of a man accused of orchestrating the killing of Tupac Shakur, kicking off weeks of testimony that will revisit what happened on a Las Vegas nearly 30 years ago.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, is charged with murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in the rapper’s death. He pleaded not guilty, but if convicted, faces life in prison.

The long-unsolved drive-by shooting gripped the hip-hop community, partly because no one was charged until Davis was indicted in 2023.

Shakur remains a cultural icon and is considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time, despite dying at 25. He was nominated for six Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

In recent years, he received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, had a street in Oakland named in his honor and inspired a character on the upcoming video game “Stranger than Heaven.”

Over the course of the trial, which could span weeks, prosecutors plan to call 35 to 45 potential witnesses, and the defense will call only a handful to testify.

Members of Shakur’s family are expected to be in the courtroom Monday. Shakur’s stepbrother, Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur, recently told The Associated Press that sitting through the trial will be retraumatizing for the family, but it’s important to be there.

“We’re gonna stand by Pac as we always have,” he said.

All eyes on Tupac

Along with Shakur’s family, friends and fans traveled to Las Vegas to show their support during jury selection.

Darryl Harper, a veteran music producer who collaborated with Shakur at Death Row Records on songs released after the 1996 shooting, said he booked a plane ticket as soon as the latest trial date was set.

“He became a personal friend of mine as I worked with him almost every day of his last days here,” said Harper, who flew in from his home in Georgia.

Harper hopes the trial will reveal the truth about who was involved with the shooting.

“My prayer is that it’s the right person,” he said outside the court during jury selection. “If he’s the right person, then I’m glad that Tupac would get some kind of redemption finally. I think he deserves it.”

Shakur’s cousins Kendrick Lesane and William Lesane flew in from Atlanta to watch jury selection. William Lesane said he wants someone held accountable.

“For me, justice has long left the station 30 years ago,” he said.

Prosecutors allege that Davis was the shot-caller

Prosecutors aren’t claiming Davis pulled the trigger. Rather, they say he organized the shooting to get revenge after Shakur and his entourage beat up Davis’ nephew at the MGM Grand hours before Shakur was shot.

The gunfire came from a white Cadillac that Davis was in with three others, all who have since died.

In 2008, Davis spoke to investigators looking into the deaths of Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace. During the investigation, Davis was under an agreement that what he said about Shakur’s killing couldn’t be used against him. But nearly 10 years later, Davis published a book with those details and participated in media interviews in which he laid out his role in the shooting.

The book and his public statements revived the Las Vegas investigation and became key pieces of evidence, prosecutors say.

“Had he decided to never write the book, he would not, probably, have ever been prosecuted for the crime,” prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo recently said.

Defense argues that the book is fictionalized

Davis’ attorney Michael Sanft says Davis co-authored the book “Compton Street Legend” to make money, not to tell the truth. He argues it’s impossible to tell which parts — if any — Davis wrote and which parts author Yusuf Jah penned.

Jah, who is on the list of potential witnesses, recently told an investigator that he didn’t believe Davis fully read his own book, according to court documents.

Prosecutors say the book is sensationalized but that they’ll show “what is true, what is exaggeration, and what is an outright lie,” they wrote in court documents.

Davis recently told Las Vegas television station Fox 5 that he actually wasn’t there the night Shakur was shot. In his book though, he says he carpooled from Los Angeles to Las Vegas that night to watch the same boxing match Shakur attended. It describes where he stayed, and the events before and after Shakur was shot. ___

Associated Press journalists Ty ONeil in Las Vegas and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.