Tupac Shakur Murder Trial Set to Begin: What We Know

Nearly 30 years after iconic rap star Tupac Shakur was gunned down in a drive-by shooting, the man accused of orchestrating the shootout is set to stand trial.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, is scheduled to stand trial Monday, August 10, in Clark County, Nevada, on the murder charges in the 1996 shooting that killed Shakur.

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Davis has pleaded not guilty; however, prosecutors allege that although he didn’t fire the shot, he helped plan the attack and provided the gun in the shooting.

According to USA Today, the official witness list for the trial was also released with over 200 names including Death Row Records cofounder Marion “Suge” Knight, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former bodyguard, Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, and former Compton police officer Reggie Wright Jr.

Shakur, one of hip-hop’s most influential and prolific rappers, was killed Sept. 7, 1996, in Las Vegas heading to an afterparty. His death put an infamous light on the heated rivalry between the East Coast and West Coast rap scene, where artistic disputes turned into real-world rivalries.

Hours before the shooting, Tupac, Suge Knight and others were involved in a fight at the MGM Grand with Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, Davis’ nephew and a member of the Compton Crips.

Knight was also in the car with Shakur during the fatal shooting. Shakur died several days later, and Knight survived.

Prosecutors state that Davis, Anderson Deandrae Smith and Terry Brown were later found riding in a white Cadillac that pulled up alongside the rapper’s car and opened fire.

No murder weapon was ever recovered from the incident.

According to CNN, Davis has stated that he was in the Cadillac and even discussed the killing in interviews and his 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend.”

The murder trial is expected to last nearly four weeks.