Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, has gone on trial in Las Vegas in the murder case tied to Tupac Shakur’s death. Prosecutors say Davis supplied the gun used in the fatal drive-by shooting, but they do not say he fired the shots himself.
The case reaches court nearly 30 years after Shakur was shot four times on 7 September 1996 and died six days later. It is the only criminal prosecution tied to the killing.
Las Vegas murder trial
Shakur was in a BMW that stopped at a red light when a white Cadillac drove past and gunfire erupted, according to police. He had been involved in a fight at a casino before the shooting, and he was taken to hospital and put on life support before he died.
The case now turns on what prosecutors can prove Davis did before the shooting, not on whether he pulled the trigger. Their theory is that he supplied the gun used in the attack, which leaves the courtroom focused on the chain leading to the weapon itself.
Marion "Suge" Knight
Marion "Suge" Knight was in the car with Shakur when the shots were fired. He did not fully cooperate with investigators about what he saw that night, leaving his account a central but limited part of the record.
That makes the trial about more than the shooting itself. The prosecution has to link Davis to the weapon and the attack through the evidence it presents, while the defense can press the gap between being accused and being the person who fired the gun.
Tupac Shakur legacy
Shakur was born in New York in 1971, released his debut album in 1991 and sold more than 75 million records worldwide. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 and appeared in Juice, Poetic Justice, Above the Rim, Gridlock'd and Gang Related.
He was raised by Afeni Shakur, who was an activist in the Black Panthers. Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent are among the artists identified with his influence, and 50 Cent said, "każdy raper, który dorastał w latach 90., zawdzięcza coś Tupacowi". For the jury, the task is narrower: decide whether the evidence supports the murder charge against Davis.
