Tupac Shakur's accused killer was out for 'revenge,' jury hears

August 23, 2026 | 10:44am Duane Davis (L) looks on as he appears in court with his attorney Michael Sanft during his murder trial related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The trial of the former gang leader accused of orchestrating the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur began on August 10, 30 years after one of America's most high-profile unresolved killings. The proceedings, expected to last a month, will likely not make clear who fired the shots that killed the California hip-hop legend on the night of September 7, 1996, while he was in Las Vegas to see a Mike Tyson boxing match. Rapper Tupac Shakur was shot dead in an act of gang revenge ordered by a mobster who later boasted of it, jurors heard Monday. Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, a one-time leader of the South Side Compton Crips, ordered the killing after his nephew had been beaten by a rival mob, prosecutor Binu Pilal told a Las Vegas court. 'On September 7, 1996, Tupac Shakur publicly, on camera, participated in a humiliating beating of Duane Davis's nephew, Orlando Anderson,' he said. 'Then, two and a half hours later... Tupac is gunned down in a drive-by shooting from a white Cadillac in an act of revenge.' Pilal said Davis did not pull the trigger but had handed the gun to someone sitting in the back seat of his car and ordered that person to shoot the rapper. In repeated interviews—with law enforcement, media, and ultimately in an autobiography—Davis confessed to his part in the murder. The killing of Shakur, also known as 2Pac, is one of America's most celebrated cold cases, sparking debate over who did it and why. The rapper, 25 at the time of his death, was a key figure in the East Coast vs. West Coast hip-hop rivalry. Known for hits like 'California Love' and 'All Eyez on Me,' he was raised in Harlem and Baltimore but became the epitome of California hip-hop after signing with Los Angeles-based Death Row Records. Prosecutors say Death Row Records was protected by Mob Piru, a Los Angeles gang affiliated with the wider Bloods alliance. Suge Knight, founder of Death Row, was part of this group. Bad Boy Records, the East Coast label created by Sean 'Diddy' Combs, hired the rival Compton Crips, led by Davis, as bodyguards. Knight and Shakur were in Las Vegas to watch boxer Mike Tyson fight when they beat up Davis's nephew, Crips member Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson, in retaliation for an alleged assault on a Death Row employee. Later that night, a white Cadillac carrying Davis, Anderson, and others pulled up beside Shakur's car. Shots were fired, and Shakur was fatally wounded. The investigation stalled for decades due to a lack of evidence, but the case was revived when Davis's memoirs were published in 2019. In the book, he claimed he was in the front seat and handed a pistol to those in the back seat. Davis later backtracked, saying the claims were exaggerated and created by a ghostwriter to sell books. Davis, 63, denies murder and other charges. If convicted, he faces possible life in prison without parole. His lawyer, Michael Sanft, argued prosecutors lacked proof, portraying a confused police investigation that failed to establish definitive facts. Davis has repeatedly confessed to his role in the revenge killing, though his lawyer disputes the credibility of the evidence presented.