Opening statements began Monday in the murder trial of rapper Tupac Shakur. The man implicated in the 1996 killing in Las Vegas is a former gang member.
Transcript
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Testimony got underway today in the much anticipated trial of the accused mastermind of Tupac Shakur’s murder. The rap star was gunned down near the Las Vegas Strip in 1996. A once-prominent gang leader, 63-year-old Duane Davis, is charged with first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty in the death of the 25-year-old. Steve Futterman is covering the nationally televised trial. He joins us from outside the Las Vegas Regional Justice Center. Hey there, Steve.
STEVE FUTTERMAN, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: Hey. So next month, September is going to mark 30 years since the death of Tupac Shakur.
FUTTERMAN: Yeah.
KELLY: And now this trial finally is underway. What was the prosecution’s opening statement?
FUTTERMAN: Well, the prosecution said this was a gang revenge killing after Tupac Shakur and several others assaulted Orlando Anderson in the lobby of the MGM Grand Hotel. This was after a Mike Tyson fight. Anderson was the nephew of Duane Davis. Both were part of the South Side Compton Crips gang. And prosecutor Binu Palal said this is what started the whole series of events. Davis, he said, did not pull the trigger, but he put everything in motion.
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BINU PALAL: You will learn that Duane Davis got the gun. You will learn that he got into a white Cadillac. You will learn when the opportunity presented itself for retribution, Duane Davis made sure that the shooters were armed and ready to execute their revenge. And remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself.
FUTTERMAN: And that last comment refers to the fact that a major part of the prosecution’s case relies on Davis’ own words. In his 2019 memoir, and in many interviews, the jury heard and read some of those comments today, including one interview where Davis clearly admits handing the gun to someone in the back seat.
KELLY: I understand the defense presented a very different view of the case. What was it?
FUTTERMAN: Well, it’s very different and a bit unusual. Defense attorney Michael Sanft talked a bit about sloppy police work, how records were – no longer exist. But his basic argument was that Duane Davis, also known as Keffe D, was embellishing. Davis, he said, was known for fabricating stories, and he said, there isn’t any proof that Davis was even in Las Vegas.
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MICHAEL SANFT: Look for evidence that shows that Keffe D was even in Las Vegas on the night of the fight – receipts, credit cards, a picture of him standing next to somebody else, maybe watching the fight from another casino, something. Give me something. In the book, you’re go learn that Keffe says that he was at the fight. He was sitting on the second row. He was sitting with all the celebrities, and he was dressed in his finest gear. There’s not one iota of proof that he was ever at that fight.
FUTTERMAN: And the defense said it’s up to the prosecution to prove that Davis’ comments are true. Now, at one point, the defense raised the spectre of alternate theories in the case, and there have been a lot of those over the years. Some of those quite bizarre.
KELLY: This is fascinating. Sounds like it could come down to which version of Duane Davis the jury will believe, like Duane Davis versus Duane Davis.
FUTTERMAN: I think you’re exactly right. You know, we’ve often heard those cases that are described as a he said, she said, This case might be described as a he said, but was it the truth? Now, there’s no way the defense can argue that Duane Davis didn’t make the comments that are recorded on video or on tape. The idea is to raise as many doubts as possible. And when it comes to the book, the defense is suggesting that a ghost writer penned most of it and that it’s full of embellishments.
KELLY: All right. We will look forward to hearing more as testimony unfurls there. Steve Futterman at the courthouse in Las Vegas. Thank you, Steve.
FUTTERMAN: Thank you, Mary Louise.
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