Defense in Tupac murder trial rests on former officers' testimony about police handling

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the former gang leader charged with the 1996 drive-by killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, concluded his defense after calling three witnesses in less than two hours on Thursday. Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday.

Defense attorney Michael Sanft presented testimony from three former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officers to suggest gaps in the investigation. Former Sergeant Stan Hyt and former Lieutenant Charlie Mangrum said they were monitoring Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight’s residence the night of the shooting and observed a light-colored Cadillac arriving and later leaving the property as part of a convoy that included Knight’s BMW.

Sanft highlighted that police later received reports that a similar Cadillac pulled alongside Knight’s BMW shortly before gunfire erupted, a detail prosecutors say aligns with the prosecution’s theory that Davis rode in the front passenger seat of the white Cadillac used in the attack.

Former homicide detective Dan Long, who led the Shakur murder investigation from 2002 to 2017, testified that the case file had been “locked down” after department employees accessed it, and that some reports were lost during a transition to electronic storage. He also recounted a 2009 interview with Davis in which he was told to “stand down,” allegedly because of a prior proffer agreement that gave Davis limited protection for his statements.

Prosecutors maintain that Davis was the “shot-caller” who facilitated his nephew Orlando Anderson’s retaliation against Knight’s BMW after a prior altercation at the MGM Grand. They cite a 2008 proffer interview in which Davis described riding in the front seat of the Cadillac and handing a loaded .40-caliber Glock to the men in the back seat.

District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors the shooting was a revenge act tied to gang tensions between the South Side Compton Crips and the Mob Piru Bloods, asserting that Davis planned and equipped the retaliation.

Additional testimony included former associate James “Mob James” McDonald denying a theory that Knight’s security chief Reggie Wright Jr. ordered the killing, and friend Malcolm Greenidge describing a light-colored Cadillac pulling alongside Knight’s BMW moments before the gunfire began.

The defense’s strategy focused on casting doubt on police procedures and the credibility of prior statements, while the prosecution emphasized Davis’s alleged role in orchestrating the attack.