30 years later: The 2pac trial begins

A former gang leader accused of masterminding the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur went on trial on Monday, marking the start of a case nearly 30 years after one of America’s most famous unsolved murders.

The trial, expected to last about a month, is unlikely to definitively establish who fired the shots that killed Shakur on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas while he was there to watch a Mike Tyson fight.

Prosecutors say the defendant, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, then leader of the South Side Compton Crips, ordered the attack and supplied the firearm used in the drive-by shooting.

Jury selection began on Monday and is expected to continue through the week. Davis, 63, appeared in court in a light-blue shirt and blue tie. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment without parole.

Shakur, also known as 2Pac, died at 25 and remains at the center of ongoing speculation among fans about who killed him and why.

The rapper was a major figure in the East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry, and he rose from roots in Harlem and Baltimore to become closely associated with Los Angeles’ Death Row Records.

The case is also set to revisit the feud between Death Row,run by Marion “Suge” Knight, and Bad Boy Records, founded by Sean “Diddy” Combs and home to Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, who was murdered in March 1997.

Prosecutors argue that Death Row had protection linked to Mob Piru, a Los Angeles gang tied to the wider Bloods network, and that Knight was connected to that group. They also say Bad Boy Records employed South Side Compton Crips members, including Davis, as bodyguards.

According to the prosecution, after the Tyson bout at the MGM Grand, Knight and Shakur allegedly assaulted Davis’s nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, in retaliation for an incident involving a Death Row employee. Prosecutors contend Davis sought revenge.

That same night, a white Cadillac carrying Davis, Anderson, and others allegedly pulled up alongside Shakur’s car in Las Vegas, with shots fired from inside the vehicle. Shakur was fatally injured.

The investigation was slow to progress for decades due to limited evidence, but the case resurfaced in 2019 after Davis published memoirs.’

In the book, Davis claimed he was in the front seat and handed a gun to people in the back. However, he did not identify who actually shot Shakur. With most others involved in the car now deceased, the statements became central.

Davis had made similar comments earlier to reporters, but the memoirs ultimately drew renewed scrutiny. He was arrested in September 2023 after the publication.

Since then, Davis has denied responsibility and pleaded not guilty. In an interview from prison with ABC News in March 2025, he said, “I’m innocent. I ain’t killed nobody.

Never did ever kill nobody.” He also claimed there was no evidence placing him in Las Vegas and argued that investigators could not prove his involvement.

In court filings and prior statements, Davis has claimed he was in Los Angeles at the time of the killing and said he never even read his own memoirs, claiming details were exaggerated or produced by a co-author for book sales.

Leading up to trial, his lawyers attempted unsuccessfully to block the memoir from being introduced as evidence, along with remarks he made to police in 2008 as a witness.

Regardless of the outcome, legal experts expect the ruling may not bring closure for Shakur’s supporters. In May, his stepbrother, Maurice Shakur, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in civil court.

Source: AFP