Tupac Murder Trial Day 1: Prosecutors Say Gang Leader Carried Out ‘Act Of Revenge’ & Admitted It

A murder trial over the killing of Tupac Shakur kicked off Monday (Aug.

17) in a Las Vegas courtroom, where prosecutors told jurors that the legendary rapper’s slaying was “an act of revenge” carried out by former Los Angeles gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis.

In opening statements of a trial expected to last at least a month, prosecutors told jurors Davis had masterminded the 1996 drive-by shooting that left the legendary rapper dead at the age of 25, doing so in response to a fight earlier that night in which Shakur attacked his nephew at a Las Vegas casino.

Related Tupac Shakur’s Murder Trial Is Finally Here, 30 Years After Infamous Hip-Hop Crime BE:FIRST Is Ready for the World: Inside the J-Pop Superstars' Long-Planned U.S.

Breakthrough Glenn A.

Baker, Australian Music Historian and Former Billboard Correspondent, Dies at 74 As expected, prosecutors leaned heavily on Davis’ own statements about his involvement in the famous crime — including in a 2008 interview and a 2019 memoir in which he admitted that he was in the front seat for the shooting and had provided the gun to the shooter in the backseat.

“Let’s be clear: Duane Davis did not pull the trigger,” prosecutor Binu Palal told jurors.

“You will learn that when the opportunity presented itself for retribution, Duane Davis made sure that the shooters were armed and ready to execute their revenge.

And remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself.” Prosecutors repeatedly played clips in which Davis discussed his involvement, including both private interviews with police and public media appearances while he was promoting his book.

Palal said they showed his “visceral anger” with Shakur over the attack on his nephew, even decades later.

“Duane Davis knew that in his world, that required a response,” the prosecutor said of the fight.

“Now, nearly 30 years later, we’re going to ask you to finally hold Duane Davis accountable.” Firing back for Davis was defense attorney Michael W.

Sanft , who told jurors there was no real evidence linking his client to the crime, or even that he had been in Las Vegas that night.

He urged jurors to distinguish between fact and fiction and pointedly questioned why his client had not been charged years earlier based on the same statements.