A prosecutor said Monday that while few have been willing to speak about the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur, Duane "Keffe D" Davis is the "one person who has a hard time being silent."
asserted
who → say → time
"Let's be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger.
asserted
Davis → pull → trigger
But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew," Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors at the start of Davis' Las Vegas trial.
asserted
Palal → plan → trial
"Remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself."
asserted
you → learn → Davis
Davis, 63, could get life in prison if he's convicted of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang.
uncertain
he → get → gang
He has pleaded not guilty.
asserted
He → plead → ?
His lawyer in the defense opening called the prosecution's narrative "fiction."
asserted
lawyer → call → narrative
Palal showed jurors video of Shakur's entourage attacking Davis' nephew Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson outside the boxing match at the MGM Grand hours before the shooting on Sept. 7, 1996.
asserted
entourage → show → Sept.
Davis spent the next two hours planning how to get even, said Palal, and Shakur was gunned down "in an act of revenge."
asserted
Shakur → spend → revenge
Shakur remains a cultural icon and is considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time, despite dying at 25.
What he told the FBI and investigators
In a 2008 interview with a federal task force investigating the killing of Shakur's rival, the Notorious B.I.G., Davis instead talked about the Shakur shooting.
asserted
Davis → remain → shooting
He described handing a gun to the men in the backseat of a white Cadillac that fired on a black BMW with Shakur and Marion "Suge" Knight inside.
asserted
that → describe → Shakur
As prosecutors played audio of Davis explaining the moment Shakur was shot, members of Shakur's family, including his stepbrother Maurice "Mopreme" Shakur, stared ahead and listened intently from the audience.
asserted
members → play → audience
Palal told jurors Davis held onto a visceral hatred for Shakur for decades that drove him to speak.
asserted
that → tell → him
He said the defendant talked to the FBI in 1998 and again in 1999, admitting he had been in Las Vegas at the time of the shooting.
asserted
he → say → shooting
In 2009, he admitted to his role in the killing in an interview with Las Vegas police, Palal said.
"And now 30 years later, we're going to ask you to finally hold Duane Davis accountable," Palal said.
asserted
Palal → admit → you
He also showed jurors the 2019 memoir that Davis co-authored, "Compton Street Legend," that the prosecution will use and that the defense fought to keep out of the trial, along with several of the defendant's interviews.
asserted
defense → show → interviews
How Davis' legal team is defending him
Davis, wearing a blue suit and tie, sat quietly with his hands folded on the table in front of him, occasionally nodding along as his attorney gave his opening, and often scanned the room during testimony to see who was in the gallery.
asserted
who → defend → gallery
"What they are telling you, they are representing as fact, when it's really fiction," Michael Sanft said.
asserted
Sanft → tell → fact
He said Davis wasn't previously charged because law enforcement knew that he was "full of crap."
asserted
he → say → crap
The defense attorney also pointed to missing documents in the original investigation and distrust between police departments.
asserted
attorney → point → departments
He called one detective's work "biased," "sloppy" and "incomplete."
asserted
He → call → work
Sanft said outside court at the end of the day that he thought the 30 years that had elapsed would help Davis.
asserted
that → say → Davis
"The length of time is going to be a huge problem for people trying to recall things, to remember things," the lawyer said.
asserted
lawyer → go → things
"That's just not how it works."
asserted
it → work → ?
Asked about the oddity of calling his client "full of crap" and similar things, he said, "We all have a family member who's like that."
asserted
who → ask → that
Briefly a suspect in Notorious B.I.G.'s death
Former Los Angeles Police Department detective Fred Miller — assigned to the investigation of the 1997 shooting death of the Notorious B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace — testified remotely and said that Davis had briefly been suspected in that shooting.
Davis admitted to being present at a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles where Wallace and Sean "Diddy" Combs were guests.
asserted
Wallace → assign → Angeles
Wallace was shot as he was leaving.
asserted
he → shoot → ?
Sanft objected to the inclusion of the testimony.
asserted
Sanft → object → testimony
The judge, with prosecutors' agreement, told jurors that police do not believe Davis was involved.
asserted
Davis → tell → jurors
The story of the drive-by shooting has long gripped the hip-hop community, partly because no one was charged until Davis was indicted in 2023.
asserted
Davis → drive → 2023
The other three men riding in the Cadillac have all died in the years since.
asserted
men → rid → years
Retired Las Vegas police officer Garry Dale was the first of the 35 to 45 witnesses the prosecution plans to call at the trial expected to last about a month.
asserted
prosecution → plan → trial
He testified that he and another officer stopped Knight and Shakur's car for missing a license plate, warned them and let them go.
asserted
them → testify → them
About 10 minutes later the officers responded to a shooting call and found EMTs pulling Shakur from the car.
asserted
EMTs → respond → car
Dale said Knight had been grazed by bullets, but told the officers to take care of Shakur.
asserted
Knight → say → Shakur
Dale jumped in the ambulance and asked Shakur who shot him.
asserted
who → jump → him
The retired officer said that Shakur said something like "no, we'll take care of it."
asserted
we → say → it
Brent Becker, a former Las Vegas homicide detective, testified that Knight showed up to a police interview with attorneys, which he thought was odd because Knight was a victim.
asserted
Knight → testify → attorneys
Knight was timid, his interview was practiced and he told investigators he knew nothing, Becker said.
asserted
Becker → practice → nothing
"I thought he lied to us," Becker said in video testimony.
asserted
Becker → think → testimony
…and 10 more, not listed.
