Las Vegas Trial In Slain Hip Hop Legend Tupac Shakur’s Murder Starts Today: ‘Pac Was Killed Almost 30 years Ago–What To Know

Jury selection began today in the long-awaited murder trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the former gang leader accused of orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting of rap icon Tupac Shakur.

Nearly 30 years after the 25-year-old musician was gunned down near the Las Vegas Strip, the high-stakes proceedings mark the first time anyone has faced criminal charges for the infamous killing.

Davis, 63, faces one count of murder with a deadly weapon with intent to promote, further, or assist a criminal gang. He has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors contend that Davis was the “shot caller” who ordered the execution of Shakur as an act of retaliation. Hours before the shooting, Shakur and Death Row Records executives had assaulted Davis’s nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, in the lobby of the MGM Grand hotel.

While the state does not allege that Davis physically pulled the trigger, Nevada law allows individuals to be charged with murder if they aided or abetted the crime. Davis is the last living occupant of the white Cadillac from which the fatal shots were fired.

The trial features a highly unusual legal dynamic. Lacking a murder weapon or the vehicle used in the attack, the prosecution’s case relies almost entirely on Davis’s own public statements. Over the past decade, Davis detailed his involvement in the shooting across various media interviews and in his 2019 self-published memoir, Compton Street Legend.

In a stark role reversal, prosecutors will attempt to prove Davis was telling the truth in his book, while defense attorneys plan to argue that their client is a storyteller who fabricated the claims for fame and financial gain.

The trial is expected to last approximately one month. Key figures from the 1990s Hip-Hop scene may hover over the proceedings. Notably, Suge Knight recently stated that he does not wish to testify or participate in the trial.

Tupac Amaru Shakur (born Lesane Parish Crooks on June 16, 1971) is widely considered one of the most influential and successful Hip-Hop artists of all time.

He sold over 75 million records globally, defining the 1990s West Coast “G-Funk” sound.

He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

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