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The long-running investigation into the 1996 killing of hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur moved into a courtroom Monday (local time) as witnesses testified on the first day of Duane Keith Davis' murder trial, with prosecutors describing the shooting as "an act of revenge", and the defense counsel challenging the strength of the evidence after three decades.
Davis, 63, is charged with one count of murder with a deadly weapon in connection with Shakur's death. He has pleaded not guilty, according to CNN. Prosecutors do not allege that Davis personally fired the shots that killed Shakur. Instead, they contend that he orchestrated the drive-by shooting in retaliation for an assault on his nephew, Orlando Anderson, earlier on the night of September 7, 1996. The trial began in Las Vegas with opening statements from both sides before the jury heard testimony from four witnesses. Several members of Shakur's family, including his sister, were present in the courtroom. In their opening statement, prosecutors framed Shakur's killing as retaliation following an assault involving Anderson. As per CNN, they described the murder as "an act of revenge" and argued that Davis had shown "visceral anger" toward Shakur over the years. Prosecutors presented surveillance footage, audio clips and witness testimony as they sought to establish a timeline of events on September 7, 1996. Shakur was in Las Vegas to attend a Mike Tyson boxing match when he was fatally shot in a drive-by attack. The state's case does not depend on proving that Davis was the gunman. Instead, prosecutors allege that he was the person who orchestrated the killing and supplied the gun, relying in part on his past public statements and admissions concerning the events. The prosecution also presented audio of Davis speaking in 2008 about the night of the shooting. Davis' defense focused on the age of the case and what it described as a lack of reliable facts connecting him to Shakur's murder. Defense attorney Michael Sanft questioned why Davis had not been charged earlier despite his past statements about his alleged role in the killing. Sanft dismissed those statements as "bullsh*t" and challenged the work of detectives who had previously investigated the case. The defense also described the work of one former detective as "biased, sloppy, and incomplete," arguing that the passage of time, corruption and the absence of solid evidence would pose major challenges for prosecutors. The case was brought to trial decades after Shakur's death. Davis was indicted in 2023 and is the first and only person charged in connection with the rapper's 1996 murder. Among the witnesses who testified was Garry Dale, a former Las Vegas police officer who recalled pulling over Shakur and Marion "Suge" Knight shortly before the shooting because of a missing license plate. As per CNN, Dale also recalled riding in an ambulance with Shakur after the shooting. According to the testimony provided in court, Shakur responded, "No, we'll take care of it," when asked who had pulled the trigger. Another witness, Ingrid Stokes, was a passenger in a vehicle traveling near the car carrying Shakur and Knight when the shooting occurred. She testified about hearing the gunfire and referenced the longstanding culture of silence surrounding street violence with the phrase, "Snitches get stitches." Retired detective Brent Becker also testified, discussing the historical challenges investigators faced while attempting to solve the case and persuade witnesses to cooperate. The state's final witness of the day, retired Los Angeles Police Department detective Fred Miller, discussed connections between Davis and another high-profile hip-hop murder investigation involving Christopher Wallace, better known as Biggie Smalls or The Notorious B.I.G. The opening day brought renewed courtroom attention to one of the most closely watched unsolved killings in hip-hop history. The proceedings are expected to last about a month. The trial is not necessarily expected to establish who physically fired the shots that killed Shakur. Prosecutors' case instead centers on their allegation that Davis orchestrated the attack. The jury was excused at the end of Monday's proceedings and is expected to return to court at 9 am (local time) Tuesday. As the trial continues, prosecutors will seek to establish Davis' alleged role in the events that led to Shakur's death, while the defense is expected to continue challenging the reliability and completeness of the evidence collected over the past 30 years. (ANI)
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