With a conviction for the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur this week, pressure is now mounting on authorities to find The Notorious B.I.G.’s killer.
asserted
pressure → mount → killer
The Brooklyn rapper — born Christopher Wallace, also known as Biggie — was gunned down in a drive-by shooting on March 9, 1997, in Los Angeles; a murder widely believed to have been in revenge for killing Shakur.
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rapper → bear → Shakur
That case came to a conclusion when Duane “Keefe D” Davis was found guilty at court in Las Vegas last week of murder for ordering his cousin, Orlando Lane, to kill Shakur then handing him a gun.
“The Tupac verdict doesn’t necessarily help solve Biggie’s murder, but it inevitably puts it under an intense microscope,” Justin Tinsley, author of “Biggie and the World that Made Him” told The Post.
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that → come → Post
Both murders were gang related, as Shakur was aligned with the Bloods street gang, while BIG’s manager, Sean “Diddy” Combs, has been alleged to have connections to their rivals, the Crips.
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manager → relate → rivals
Multiple theories over who killed Wallace abound, from rumors of involvement by off-duty LAPD officers to the killer being a juicily nicknamed associate of Shakur’s manager, Suge Knight.
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killer → kill → manager
However, gangland lips are tightly sealed, and self-incrimination — as was the case with Davis, who boasted of his role as “shot caller” of Shakur’s murder in a book — remains unlikely.
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who → seal → book
Almost 30 years later, nobody has been charged in the killing.
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nobody → charge → killing
“What separates the two cases is that Biggie does not have a central figure who put himself inside the story [like] Keefe D,” Tinsley said.
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Tinsley → separate → D
“The police need somebody to corroborate evidence.
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police → need → evidence
Biggie needs his Keefe D moment.”
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Biggie → need → moment
Somewhat ironically, Davis — who was a leader in the Crips — had his first brush with law enforcement when he was hauled in by the LAPD and questioned about Wallace’s shooting.
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he → have → shooting
That drive-by took place outside the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard where Wallace had just attended a party.
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Wallace → take → party
A Chevrolet pulled up alongside the GMC Suburban he was riding in and opened fire.
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he → pull → fire
Like Shakur, he was hit with four bullets.
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he → hit → bullets
Former LAPD detective Greg Kading, who investigated both the murders of Wallace and Shakur said he and others from the LAPD interviewed a woman, who was given the pseudonym “Theresa Swan.”
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who → investigate → pseudonym
She told law enforcers about receiving orders to get an associate named Wardell “Poochie” Fouse to kill Biggie, who was traveling in a three-car caravan and had security with him when he was shot, after receiving threats warning him not to come to Los Angeles.
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he → tell → Angeles
“Theresa goes and meets with Poochie,” Kading, who authored the book “Murder Rap,” told The Post.
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who → go → book
“They agreed on the amount of money Poochie was expecting; money was gotten to the girl and she paid him.
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she → agree → him
Then the lone gunman, driving a green Impala, pulled up alongside Biggie and shot him.”
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gunman → drive → him
But that’s just one of many accounts.
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that → ’ → accounts
Randall Sullivan, in his books “Labyrinth” and the follow-up “Dead Wrong,” made a case that members of the LAPD — some of whom were alleged to be on the payroll of Knight’s Death Row Records label — had a hand in it.
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some → make → it
“The most likely theory, which has not been proven to an absolute certainty … is that police officers working for Suge Knight coordinated the murder, with the actual assassin being a [hired] hit man – who had spent many years in prison for armed robbery,” Sullivan told The Post.
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Sullivan → prove → Post
“It was made known that Combs was wanted dead, and Biggie was his biggest star.
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Biggie → make → ?
The hitman couldn’t get Diddy [who was in one of the other cars], so he got Biggie.”
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he → get → Biggie
Knight has never been officially named a suspect or implicated in Wallace’s murder, despite prosecutors suggesting he was, during the Shakur trial.
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he → name → trial
In 2002, the year Sullivan’s book was published, members of Wallace’s family sued the city of Los Angeles and members of the LAPD.
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members → publish → LAPD
“It was going to be a billion-dollar wrongful death lawsuit,” he said of the legal action, which charged not enough was done to prevent Biggie’s death.
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enough → go → death
Perry R. Sanders, Jr., who represented Wallace’s late mother, Voletta Wallace, told The Post their suit against the LAPD went to court, but did not reach completion.
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suit → represent → completion
“Evidence was found in the lead detective’s desk drawer that indeed implicated police involvement,” Sanders told The Post, speaking of Biggie’s murder.
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Sanders → find → murder
“The judge ended up declaring a mistrial, making them pay seven figures in attorney fees.”
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them → end → fees
Alleged gunman Poochie — also killed in a drive-by in 2003 — may not be a household name for most, but in Compton’s gang scene he was a well-known figure.
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he → kill → scene
Recalling seeing him in the recording studio, singer Danny Boy said: “It was kind of eerie when Poochie came around.
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Poochie → recall → studio
“Do I believe that man was a killer?
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man → believe → ?
He looked like it.
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He → look → it
He felt like it.
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He → feel → it
You felt it when he came into the room,” he said on “The Art of Dialogue” YouTube series.
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he → feel → series
Kading, Tinsley and Sullivan agree that it is unlikely the murder of Wallace was a one-man operation.
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murder → agree → Wallace
“To kill somebody like Biggie [who had Crips bodyguards] you would need what is called a spotter,” said Tinsley.
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Tinsley → kill → bodyguards
“Someone to tell you where he is, which car he’s in, what street they are turning down.
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they → tell → street
I don’t think there’s any way you can pull off something like that without it being a joint effort.
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it → think → that
…and 31 more, not listed.
