A dispute about fact vs. fiction at the trial over Tupac Shakur's 1996 killing

Duane Davis appears in court during his murder trial related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, August 17, 2026. The prosecution argues Davis planned the shooting after his nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, was beaten by Tupac Shakur's entourage outside a boxing match at the MGM Grand on September 7, 1996. Prosecutor Binu Palal presented video evidence and Davis' own statements, including a 2008 interview with the FBI, where he admitted to being present at the time of the shooting and described handing a gun to the men in the Cadillac that fired on Shakur and Suge Knight. Davis has pleaded not guilty, and his defense attorney, Michael Sanft, called the prosecution's narrative 'fiction,' citing missing documents, distrust between police departments, and biased testimony. Davis was briefly suspected in the 1997 killing of Notorious B.I.G., but police now disavow any involvement. The trial also highlights the lack of living witnesses to identify the men in the Cadillac, with most having since died. The defense argues the prosecution's case is unreliable due to the passage of 30 years and the lack of credible evidence.