The trial of Duane Keffe D Davis, the former Los Angeles-area gang leader accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur, commenced on Monday.
The trial is taking place in a Las Vegas court, nearly three decades after the fatal shooting and a week after jury selection.
Davis, who was arrested in September 2024, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge involving the use of a deadly weapon in connection with gang activity.
Beginning the trial, Binu Palal, the prosecuting lawyer, said Davis had visceral anger towards Tupac over the earlier attack on Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, his nephew, and subsequently obtained a gun and handed it to Anderson, who then shot at Tupac’s vehicle in Las Vegas.
He argued that no one was prosecuted for years because silence means survival in the world of gangs, but claimed Davis was the one person who struggled to remain silent.
He cited his interviews and book in which he allegedly discussed his role in the case.
Them jumping on my nephew gave us the ultimate green light to do something to their ass, Palal read a quote from Davis’ book.
However, Michael Sanft, the defence lawyer, argued that Palal presented fictional details as fact” and questioned the police investigation into Tupac’s murder.
Sanft alleged that several investigative records were missing and accused the police departments involved in the case of “misconduct and incompetence”, including problems with testing the alleged murder weapon.
He also alleged that the Los Angeles Police Department gave detective Long a fake gun to test.
He also criticised another detective identified as Clifford Mogg’s handling of the case, describing his work as “biased, sloppy and incomplete” and alleging that he failed to properly file reports after receiving information about the murder.
Sanft further questioned the credibility of the prosecution’s witnesses, describing them as “unreliable people with criminal records, financial motivations and inconsistent statements”.
