Murder Trial for 1996 Tupac Shakur Shooting Begins in Las Vegas

The trial of former gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis, accused of orchestrating the 1996 murder of hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur, officially began on Monday with jury selection, marking a major turn in one of American pop culture’s most famous cold cases.

Davis, 63, appeared in a Las Vegas court in a light-blue shirt and tie. The former leader of the South Side Compton Crips faces life in prison without parole if convicted.

While the proceedings may not definitively establish who pulled the trigger on the night of September 7, 1996, prosecutors allege Davis ordered the hit, procured the firearm, and facilitated the drive-by shooting that killed the 25-year-old musician following a Mike Tyson boxing match.

Rivalries and Retaliation

The trial revisits the explosive 1990s hip-hop feud between West Coast label Death Row Records, co-founded by Marion “Suge” Knight, and East Coast counterpart Bad Boy Records, founded by Sean “Diddy” Combs.

According to prosecutors, the fatal shooting stemmed from an altercation at the MGM Grand casino earlier that night, where Shakur and Knight attacked Davis’s nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, in retaliation for an earlier assault on a Death Row affiliate.

Later that evening, a white Cadillac carrying Davis, Anderson, and two others pulled alongside Shakur’s vehicle. Shots fired from the vehicle fatally wounded the rapper.

### Revived Investigation and Defense Claims

The decades-old investigation gained fresh momentum following the release of Davis’s 2019 memoir. In the book and subsequent interviews, Davis detailed sitting in the front seat of the Cadillac and passing a handgun to the backseat before shots were fired.

Because all other occupants of the Cadillac have since died, Davis became the sole living suspect, leading to his arrest in September 2023.

Davis has since pleaded not guilty, claiming innocence and asserting that his co-author exaggerated details in the book to drive sales. Despite defense efforts to exclude the memoir and a 2008 police interview from evidence, the court allowed both to be introduced.

The trial is expected to last roughly a month as prosecutors present their case to the newly selected jury.