Tupac Shakur murder trial opens for ex-gang leader charged over 1996 killing

The murder trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis, accused of masterminding the 1996 killing of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur, has opened in Las Vegas. Davis, 63, faces a single count of murder by use of a deadly weapon and has pleaded not guilty.

Jury selection commenced on Monday, August 10, in a downtown Las Vegas courthouse. Prosecutors allege that Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips gang, orchestrated the drive-by shooting to avenge a physical altercation between his nephew and Shakur at the MGM Grand casino days earlier. The incident occurred on September 7, 1996, shortly before a boxing match.

Authorities claim Davis obtained the weapon and directed others in a white Cadillac to pursue Shakur's vehicle. Shakur, 25, was struck multiple times and died six days later. The killing occurred during the height of the "gangsta" rap era and intensified the infamous East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry.

Davis had been a suspect for years, but investigators reportedly lacked sufficient evidence until he began making self-incriminating statements publicly. The trial, presided over by Judge Carli Kierny, may include testimony from Suge Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records, who was with Shakur the night he was killed and is currently serving a prison sentence for an unrelated manslaughter conviction. The trial is expected to last up to six weeks.