Tupac Murder Trial Stalls as Witness Refuses
Tupac Murder Trial Stalls as Witness Refuses
The News
The murder trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis — the ex-gang leader accused of orchestrating Tupac Shakur's 1996 killing — opened this week in Las Vegas, nearly 30 years after the rapper was gunned down near the Strip.
Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder and faces life in prison without parole if convicted.
The case is complicated by Suge Knight, the only other living eyewitness, who has said he will not testify.
Timeline
Shakur was shot in a drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip; he died six days later.
Davis published a memoir, "Compton Street Legend," detailing his role in the shooting.
Davis was arrested and charged with orchestrating the killing.
Jury selection began in Clark County District Court.
Reactions
Davis has walked back the memoir, denying that its account amounts to a confession.
Prosecutors are not alleging Davis fired the weapon. They argue he supplied the gun and directed the attack as the "shot caller."
Suge Knight, who was wounded in the same shooting, has stayed silent about the killing for 30 years and says he will not take the stand.
What's Next
Opening statements are scheduled for August 17, once jury selection concludes.
Prosecutors expect to call roughly 35 to 45 witnesses, including people who saw Shakur moments before the shooting and figures tied to rival record labels.
All three other men believed to have been in the Cadillac that night have since died, and the identity of who fired the fatal shots may never be settled at trial.
More
The trial is the first criminal proceeding tied to Shakur's death and is expected to revisit the 1990s rivalry between Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records.
Davis's memoir named Sean "Diddy" Combs as having offered money to kill Knight and Shakur — an allegation Combs denies — but that claim is unlikely to be resolved in this case.
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