All Eyez On The Verdict
The Tupac Shakur Murder Trial
On Sept. 7 1996, Tupac Shakur and his associate Marion “Suge” Knight attended a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand in Paradise, Nevada. In the lobby, they spotted Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, a member of the rival gang known as the South Side Compton Crips. Tupac’s entourage publicly attacked Anderson in the lobby of the MGM Grand. Following the attack, Shakur and his associates left to go to a nightclub. Anderson, seeking revenge, obtained a gun and pulled his car next to Tupac’s at a red light. He proceeded to shoot Shakur multiple times, with Shakur dying six days later from internal bleeding and cardiac arrest.
Although Anderson pulled the trigger and killed Shakur, the trial did not attempt to convict him of the murder. Anderson was long deceased before law enforcement discovered he was responsible. Instead, the trial was looking to convict Anderson’s uncle, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, with the charge of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. The prosecution claimed Davis provided the gun and ordered the murder of Shakur. If Davis is convicted, then he faces life in prison without parole. He is pleading not guilty.
This trial would not be happening without evidence from Davis himself. In a recorded interview with police in 2009, Davis details the exact events of the night Shakur was shot, claiming that he was a passenger in the vehicle that fired into Shakur's car and had supplied the gun that was used to kill him.
During the trial, the prosecution called 24 witnesses to the stand before resting on Wednesday, Aug. 26th. One witness, James “Mob James” McDonald, when asked if he could identify who was responsible for Shakur’s death, refused to answer questions on the basis that they were “asking me questions that can hurt [Davis].”
"You're asking me something that wouldn't be good for [Davis]," McDonald said. "I don't want to send you to prison. Even though we don’t like each other.”
The defense called three witnesses to the stand before resting on Thursday, Aug. 27th, and Davis did not testify. Closing arguments are set for Monday, Aug. 30th.
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