Man accused of orchestrating Tupac Shakur's 1996 killing set to go on trial

In a case that has long captivated the public, Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, is set to face trial for the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas. Davis, who was one of four men present in the white Cadillac during the incident, has pleaded not guilty to the charge. Jury selection for the trial, which is expected to last about a month, begins on Monday in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas. The trial will be presided over by Judge Carli Kierny.

Tupac Shakur, a highly influential rapper, was shot in a drive-by shooting on September 7, 1996. The assailants pulled up next to his black BMW in a white Cadillac while he was in the passenger seat, en route to a performance at Club 662. Shakur died from his injuries six days later, while the driver, Marion "Suge" Knight, survived. The case remained unsolved until recently, when Davis and the other men involved began speaking publicly about their roles in the incident.

Davis, a leader of the South Side Compton Crips, claims he obtained a handgun from an associate and placed it in the back seat of the Cadillac. However, he did not specify who fired the weapon during the shooting. The Associated Press reports that Davis's defense will not argue that he pulled the trigger, but will assert that he orchestrated the killing and likely provided the weapon.

Davis's nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, who was killed in a gang-related shooting two years after Shakur's death, has been suspected of being the individual who fired the shot, but has never been charged.

The trial will involve between 35 and 45 witnesses, including former Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman, members of Shakur's family, and South Side Crip affiliate Denvonta Lee. Lee, who captured the last known photograph of Shakur minutes before the shooting, has testified that rival gangs connected to rival record labels were involved in the feud at the time.

Shakur was signed to Death Row Records, but had previously been signed to other labels. Knight, who is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for running over and killing a Compton businessman, has not yet indicated whether he will testify in Davis's case.