Tupac Trial Opens with Claims About 1996 Drive-by Shooting

The murder trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis over the 1996 shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur began with prosecutors claiming Davis masterminded the revenge attack. Nearly three decades after the drive-by shooting, they argued that Davis planned the killing in retaliation for the beating of his nephew by a rival gang. Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told the court that Davis did not pull the trigger, but he orchestrated the attack.

The prosecutor presented videos showing Shakur's crew attacking Anderson, followed by the fatal shooting from a white Cadillac. Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips gang, pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment without parole. The trial, expected to last up to six weeks, has faced criticism from Davis' defense, who called it "fiction" and claimed the investigation was "biased, sloppy and incomplete."

Tupac Shakur, known as 2Pac, was 25 when he was shot, succumbing to his injuries six days later. Despite his short career, he remains a highly influential and versatile rapper, known for addressing issues facing Black Americans.