Tupac Shakur murder case finally goes to trial: jury selection underway in Las Vegas

After nearly thirty years, the murder case surrounding rapper Tupac Shakur has finally made it to court. On Monday, August 10, jury selection began in Las Vegas for the trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis, the 63 year old former leader of the South Side Compton Crips. Prosecutors allege that Davis masterminded the attack on Shakur and supplied the weapon used in the fatal drive by shooting on September 7, 1996. In the courtroom of Judge Carli Kierny, around 75 potential jurors were questioned about their impartiality and any obstacles to participation, such as medical issues or language barriers. The selection process was expected to take at least the rest of the week.

The events of that fateful night have been extensively documented over the years. Tupac Shakur, 25 years old at the time and at the peak of his fame, had attended a boxing match earlier that evening between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand casino. Shortly afterward, Shakur and members of Death Row Records got into a fight with Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, Davis's nephew and a fellow Crips member. Later that night, a white Cadillac carrying Davis, Anderson, and others pulled up alongside the black BMW of music executive Marion "Suge" Knight. Shots were fired from the Cadillac, and Shakur was hit. He died six days later. Knight survived the attack.

Davis is the only living person to have been charged in connection with this murder. The three others who were in the suspect vehicle, including alleged shooter Orlando Anderson, have all since died and were never prosecuted. Davis himself is not accused of firing the shots, but of orchestrating the attack and providing the firearm. He has entered a not guilty plea and claims that his co author on his memoir, titled Compton Street Legend and published in 2019, heavily embellished the events. However, prosecutors intend to use the book as evidence, along with statements Davis previously made to journalists. His arrest came in September 2023, after the unsolved case had been a cold case for decades.

The trial also touches on the notorious rivalry between the American East and West Coast hip hop scenes of the nineties. Shakur was the face of Death Row Records, founded by Suge Knight and protected by the Los Angeles gang Mob Piru, a branch of the Bloods. Bad Boy Records, the label of Sean "Diddy" Combs, had hired Davis's rival Crips as security. Prosecutors say that in a television documentary, Davis is quoted as saying that Combs offered him a million dollars to take out Shakur. Combs is currently in pretrial detention himself. On top of that, Shakur's stepbrother Maurice Shakur filed a civil liability claim in May, alleging that multiple individuals share responsibility for the rapper's death and have never been held accountable.

One notable potential absence from the trial is Suge Knight. The former head of Death Row Records is currently serving a 28 year prison sentence in California for a fatal hit and run in 2015. He told ABC News that he wants absolutely no part in the proceedings, reportedly saying he has no intention of helping convict another man and that he does not care which side any subpoena might come from. When speaking about Tupac himself, he was visibly emotional, saying there is not a day that goes by that he does not think about him. Knight was driving the BMW on the night of the attack and was sitting next to Shakur when the shots were fired.

Outside the courthouse, family members and supporters of Shakur gathered together. William Lesane, who identified himself as the rapper's nephew, told reporters that the trial represents thirty years of grief and trauma for his family. "Hopefully we'll find out some new information. And more importantly, the right person is charged and convicted for Tupac's murder," he said. The trial is expected to last between one month and five weeks. If convicted, Davis faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The case is drawing worldwide attention from hip hop fans, including in the Netherlands, where Tupac Shakur remains one of the most influential rappers of all time, celebrated for classics like California Love and the album All Eyez on Me.