Opening statements began Monday in the trial of a
, the start of weeks of testimony revisiting what happened on a Las Vegas night nearly 30 years ago.
asserted
what → open → night
Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, is charged with murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in Shakur's death.
asserted
Davis → charge → death
He , but if convicted, he faces life in prison.
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he → convict → prison
Davis entered the courtroom in a blue suit and tie and scanned the audience to see who was there before sitting next to his lawyer, Michael Sanft, once the jury was sworn in and seated.
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jury → enter → lawyer
Members of Shakur's family, including his stepbrother Maurice "Mopreme" Shakur, sat quietly in the front row of the courtroom behind prosecutors.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal showed jurors a picture of the Mike Tyson fight with the date "September 7, 1996" and showed video of Shakur's entourage attacking Davis' nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson.
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entourage → include → nephew
"On September 7, 1996, Tupac Shakur publicly, on camera, participated in a humiliating beating of Duane Davis' nephew, Orlando Anderson," he said.
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he → participate → nephew
"Then, two and a half hours later ... Tupac is gunned down in a drive-by shooting from a white Cadillac in an act of revenge."
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Tupac → gun → revenge
Palal said Davis did not pull the trigger, but had handed the gun to someone sitting in the back seat of his car and ordered that person to shoot the rapper.
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Davis → say → rapper
"Let's be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger.
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Davis → let → trigger
But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew," Palal said.
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Palal → plan → nephew
"Remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself."
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you → learn → Davis
His lawyer in the defense opening called the prosecution's narrative "fiction."
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lawyer → call → narrative
Sanft questioned why the Clark County DA's office did not charge Davis years ago, CBS affiliate KLAS-TV reported from inside the courtroom.
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TV → question → courtroom
"No one corroborates any of this," Sanft told the jury, adding: "What facts do they have after 30 years?"
The long-unsolved drive-by shooting gripped the hip-hop community, partly because no one was charged until Davis was indicted in 2023.
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Davis → corroborate → 2023
Shakur remains a cultural icon and is considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time, despite dying at 25.
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Shakur → remain → 25
He was nominated for six Grammy Awards and was inducted into the
.In recent years
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He → nominate → years
, he received a
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, had a street in Oakland named in his honor and inspired a character in the upcoming video game "Stranger Than Heaven.
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street → receive → Heaven
"A few fans lined up early Monday for a coveted seat in the courthouse to watch the first day of testimony.
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fans → line → testimony
Din Malone took a bus from Denver and hopes to stay for the entire trial.
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Malone → take → trial
"As a brother and a fan, I felt like he talked through his music," said Malone, who wore a Tupac shirt and played Shakur's music from his phone while waiting to get inside.
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who → feel → phone
Over the course of the trial, which could span weeks, prosecutors plan to call 35 to 45 potential witnesses, and the defense will call only a handful to testify.
uncertain
defense → span → handful
Maurice Shakur recently told The Associated Press that sitting through the trial will be retraumatizing for the family, but it's important to be there.
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it → tell → family
"We're gonna stand by Pac as we always have," he said.
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he → go → Pac
All eyes on Tupac
Along with Shakur's family, friends and fans traveled to Las Vegas to show their support during jury selection.
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friends → travel → selection
Darryl Harper, a veteran music producer who collaborated with Shakur at Death Row Records on songs released after the 1996 shooting, said he booked a plane ticket as soon as the latest trial date was set.
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date → collaborate → ticket
"He became a personal friend of mine as I worked with him almost every day of his last days here," said Harper, who flew in from his home in Georgia.
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who → become → Georgia
Shakur's cousins Kendrick Lesane and William Lesane flew in from Atlanta last week.
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cousins → fly → Atlanta
William Lesane said he wants someone held accountable.
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someone → say → ?
"For me, justice has long left the station 30 years ago," he said.
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he → leave → station
Prosecutors allege Davis was the shot-caller
The gunfire that killed Shakur came from a white Cadillac that Davis was riding in with three others, all of whom have since died.
"When he says he's the only person who can tell what happened, he's right," Palal said.
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Palal → allege → whom
In 2008, Davis spoke to investigators looking into the deaths of Shakur and
, born Christopher Wallace.
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Davis → speak → Shakur
He described handing a gun to the men in the back seat of a white Cadillac that fired on a black BMW with Shakur and Marion "Suge" Knight inside.
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that → describe → Shakur
During the investigation, Davis was under an agreement that what he said about Shakur's killing couldn't be used against him.
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said → say → him
But nearly 10 years later, Davis published a book with those details and participated in media interviews in which he laid out his role in the shooting.
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he → publish → shooting
The book and his public statements revived the Las Vegas investigation and became key pieces of evidence, prosecutors say.
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prosecutors → revive → evidence
"Had he decided to never write the book, he would not, probably, have ever been prosecuted for the crime," prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo recently said.
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DiGiacomo → decide → crime
As prosecutors played audio of Davis explaining the moment Shakur was shot, members of Shakur's family, including his stepbrother Maurice Shakur, stared ahead and listened intently from the audience.
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members → play → audience
Palal told jurors that Davis held onto a visceral hatred for Shakur for decades that drove him to speak.
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that → tell → him
He said the defendant talked to the FBI in 1998 and again in 1999, admitting he had been in Las Vegas at the time of the shooting.
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he → say → shooting
In 2009, he admitted to his role in the killing in an interview with Las Vegas police, Palal said.
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Palal → admit → police
…and 37 more, not listed.
The Aporia
