Tupac Shakur murder suspect takes center stage at trial nearly 30 years after shooting shocked music world
Nearly 30 years after rapper Tupac Shakur was fatally shot in Las Vegas, the only person ever charged in his killing is set to go on trial.
Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, is scheduled to stand trial beginning Monday on a murder charge in the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed Shakur, one of hip-hop’s most influential artists.
Davis has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors do not accuse him of firing the shot, but allege he helped plan the attack and provided the gun used in the shooting.
Shakur was shot Sept. 7, 1996, while riding in a BMW driven by Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight near the Las Vegas Strip. He died six days later at age 25.
LAWYERS FOR SUSPECTED TUPAC SHAKUR KILLER CLAIM HIS WORDS WERE TWISTED, WANT HIM RELEASED FROM JAIL
Hours before the shooting, Shakur, Knight and others were involved in a fight at the MGM Grand with Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, Davis’ nephew and a member of the South Side Compton Crips.
Prosecutors say Davis, Anderson, Deandrae "Freaky" Smith and Terry "Bubble Up" Brown were later riding in a white Cadillac that pulled alongside Shakur’s car and opened fire.
Davis is the only one of the four still alive.
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Authorities long suspected Anderson was the gunman, although evidence presented in the case has also raised the possibility that Smith fired the shots.
No murder weapon was recovered.
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According to The Associated Press, prosecutors hope to prove that Davis called the shots in and provided the gun used in the crime. Gunfire came from the Cadillac that Davis was in, and he is one of the only people there that night who is still alive.
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Davis has acknowledged being in the Cadillac and discussed the killing in interviews and in his 2019 memoir, "Compton Street Legend." Prosecutors say those statements help establish his role in the attack.
His attorneys, meanwhile, have argued that some of Davis’ public statements were exaggerated and have challenged whether statements he made during a 2008 police interview could be used against him.
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A Nevada judge ruled that Davis' police interview, as well as portions of his memoir, will be allowed during the trial.
The trial is expected to last about four weeks. In November, Davis' attorneys unsuccessfully sought to dismiss the charges.
"Think of it this way: Shakur’s murder was essentially the entertainment world’s JFK assassination — endlessly dissected, mythologized, monetized — so it’s not hard to see why someone in Davis’s position might falsely place himself at the center of it all for personal gain," his attorneys said in a petition to the Nevada Supreme Court that was denied.
Shakur's legendary rap career was highlighted by more than 75 million records worldwide with hits including "California Love," "Changes" and "Dear Mama."
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for comment.
Fox News Digital's Brie Stimson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.