Decades-old Tupac Shakur murder trial begins in Las Vegas

The first trial connected to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur is set to begin Monday in Las Vegas, bringing 63-year-old Duane Davis to court on a murder charge, officials said.

Prosecutors have filed one count of murder with a deadly weapon against Davis. Officials allege he arranged the drive-by shooting that killed Shakur, and argue the attack was carried out to advance the interests of the South Side Compton Crips gang.

Nevada prosecution focuses on planning, not the trigger Authorities are not alleging that Davis fired the Authorities are not alleging that Davis fired the weapon. Instead, prosecutors are pursuing a theory under Nevada law that permits a murder conviction if the state proves a defendant planned, organized, or otherwise enabled the killing.

Officials said the case will center on whether conduct attributed to Davis meets the state’s standard for murder liability without evidence that he pulled the trigger. Prosecutors have said they will present a narrative in which the shooting was set in motion through actions they attribute to Davis.

Prosecutors point to Davis’s prior statements Officials have indicated they intend to rely heavily on Davis’s own past accounts. Prosecutors have cited his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, along with later public interviews in which he described involvement in tracking Shakur after an earlier confrontation that night involving Davis’s nephew.

Officials have also described an alleged motive linked

According to prosecutors, those statements fit the state’s sequence of planning and pursuit leading to the fatal drive-by. Officials have also described an alleged motive linked to gang interests, contending the shooting was meant to further the South Side Compton Crips gang and that Davis helped organize the pursuit that ended with the attack.

Trial timeline, witnesses, and the defense position Prosecutors have said the trial is expected to last four to six weeks. They plan to call between 35 and 45 witnesses as they present evidence to a jury and seek to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The defense disputes the reliability of Davis’s prior statements. Defense lawyers have said the earlier admissions were fabricated to generate publicity, and they are expected to argue that the memoir and interviews should be given limited weight.

Why the case proceeds against one defendant

Davis has been held in custody since 2023. Court records show he pleaded not guilty in November 2023.

Officials have identified three other people as having been in the vehicle during the 1996 shooting, but authorities have said those individuals are now deceased. With no other defendants available for trial, this proceeding is the only one to date tied to Shakur’s death and is set to hinge on whether prosecutors can prove Davis enabled the killing under Nevada law.