Tupac Shakur Murder Trial Begins in Las Vegas as Jury Selection Gets Underway

Tupac Shakur’s murder case has moved from decades of speculation into a Las Vegas courtroom, with jury selection beginning on Monday, Aug. 10, in the trial of Duane “Keefe D” Davis, the man accused of helping orchestrate the rapper’s 1996 killing.

Keefe D, 63, appeared before Nevada Judge Carli Kierny as she questioned a pool of 75 prospective jurors about possible conflicts, medical concerns and language barriers that could keep them from serving. Outside the courthouse, members of Tupac’s family and supporters gathered as the proceedings got underway.

According to a report from the AP, Davis sat quietly beside his attorney during the hearing. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in Tupac’s death.

Speaking after court, Tupac’s cousin Kendrick Lesan said, “Whoever had anything to do with it, whoever set it up, whoever had any hand in it should be locked up in prison.”

The case had sat cold for nearly 30 years before police arrested Davis in 2023, following admissions he made in his tell-all book Compton Street Legend and in multiple interviews, where he said he was present and provided the gun used in Tupac’s murder. Prosecutors say the shooting was retaliation for a fight involving Tupac and Death Row members at the MGM Grand shortly before he and Suge Knight were shot in a drive-by near the Las Vegas Strip. The other three men connected to the suspect vehicle, including alleged shooter Orlando Anderson, have since died and were never charged.

The trial is expected to last about a month. If convicted, Davis faces life in prison.