‘Truth or fiction’: US trial of Tupac Shakur’s accused killer begins

Prosecutors claim Duane "Keefe D" Davis orchestrated the 1996 drive-by shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas as an act of revenge. Opening statements in the long-unsolved murder trial began Monday, with prosecutors telling jurors that Davis, a former gang leader, masterminded the killing.

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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 plan. And remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself.

Davis, 63, faces a murder charge with a deadly weapon and intent to promote a criminal gang. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege he was the "on-the-ground, on-site commander" of the operation, supplying the gun but not firing the fatal shots. Shakur, then 25, died near the Las Vegas Strip after the shooting.

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At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself, is what they are saying truth or fiction?

The trial, before Judge Carli Kierny, is expected to last up to six weeks. Prosecutors stated they would present evidence that Davis himself has made public statements that revived the inquiry. "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 plan," prosecutor Binu Palal told the jury.

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Keefe D

Defense lawyer Michael Sandt urged the jury to question the prosecution's narrative, asking, "At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself, is what they are saying truth or fiction?" He highlighted that after 30 years, investigators still have limited evidence. Authorities said Davis had been a suspect for years, but only began self-implicating through public statements after his 2023 arrest. Testimony from Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight, who was with Shakur the night he died, may also feature in the trial.

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on-the-ground, on-site commander of the effort to kill Tupac