Arabic version: بدء محاكمة مقتل توباك شاكور في لاس فيغاس

According to The Guardian, the murder trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, began in a Las Vegas courtroom on Monday. Prosecutors allege Davis was the “on-the-ground, on-site commander of the effort to kill Tupac” after Shakur’s entourage attacked Davis’s nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson. Davis has pleaded not guilty.

Chief deputy district attorney Binu Palal told jurors that Davis did not pull the trigger but planned the shooting in retaliation for the beating of his nephew. Palal showed a photograph connected to the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight dated 7 September 1996, along with video of Shakur’s entourage beating Anderson. Prosecutors also played audio and video clips of Davis discussing his alleged role and his anger over the attack.

Davis, 63, is the only living witness from the car that fired shots at Shakur and acknowledged a role in the shooting in a 2019 memoir, authorities have said. His lawyers had sought to exclude the book, arguing that Davis and his co-author exaggerated to falsely place him at the center of events for personal gain, but a judge denied the request. Defense lawyer Michael Sanft said investigators still had little evidence after 30 years and questioned whether the prosecution’s account was “truth or fiction”.

Former Las Vegas officer Garry Dale testified that he stopped Shakur and Marion “Suge” Knight before the shooting because their car lacked a rear license plate, describing the encounter as congenial. Dale later rode in the ambulance with Shakur and said the rapper declined to identify his assailants. Witness Ingrid Stokes said she heard gunshots while traveling near Shakur’s vehicle but did not see who was in the car that fired. A jury of six men and 10 women was selected last week for a trial expected to last about a month.