Tupac Shakur murder trial begins in Las Vegas

On the first day of Tupac Shakur's murder trial, prosecutors portrayed the suspect - former gang leader Dwayne "Kiffee D" Davis - as a man seeking revenge.

Witness accounts transported jurors back three decades to the night Shakur was shot, an era in the 1990s when gangs controlled hip-hop and distrust of police led to a lack of cooperation that eventually resulted in one of the most famous unsolved cases of the last century.

Davis, 63, is accused of killing Shakur.

Prosecutors say that although Davis did not pull the trigger, he allegedly orchestrated the killing. Davis denies the charges and pleads not guilty.

In opening arguments, the prosecution portrayed Davis as the leader of the group responsible for the shooting and referred to a memoir he co-authored in which he detailed the night of the killing.

“Let's be clear: Dwayne Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation for beating his nephew, Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors. “It’s remarkable that Dwayne Davis himself will tell you about this.”

Davis' lawyers have called the story a "fiction," characterizing the case as the result of a flawed investigation that spanned decades. Davis distanced himself from the memoir, saying he did not write it in its entirety and that some parts were made up to increase circulation.

Davis' defense team argued that no one had been arrested in nearly three decades and asked why "no one confirms any of this."

“What facts do they have 30 years later?” asked attorney Michael Sanft.

The prosecution's first witness was Harry Dale, who was working for the Las Vegas Police Department at the time of the shooting in September 1996.

The police officer described in detail how he rode in the ambulance with Shakur after the shooting. He said the rapper refused to provide any information about what happened or who shot him. According to the officer's affidavit, Shakur said, "We'll handle this ourselves."

At the heart of the case is the rivalry between East and West Coast rappers, as well as turf wars between the Bloods and Crips street gangs, immortalized in rap lyrics and news reports in the 1990s.

Police have long said a lack of cooperation in the case has led to a dead end in the investigation. However, members of the rapper's entourage accused the authorities of initially treating them as suspects and not following up on important leads.

Prosecutors painted that picture for jurors throughout Monday, explaining that no formal criminal charges had been filed in the shooting because in the gang world, "silence means survival."

But "one person" who found it difficult to remain silent was the defendant himself, prosecutors said, noting that Davis gave "several" statements in the case between 1998 and 2003.

Prosecutors say Davis planned the shooting after his nephew Orlando Anderson got into a fight with Shakur in Las Vegas hours earlier. They argued that Davis believed the attack on his nephew could not "go unanswered."

The iconic rapper was just 25 years old when he was shot following Mike Tyson's boxing match on September 7, 1996. He died six days later.

Prosecutors say Davis — a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang — was the “commander in place” who “gave the order to kill” Shakur.

The murder case largely stalled until Davis himself came forward publicly, publishing a memoir in 2019. In them, as well as in various interviews, Davis claimed that that night he was a passenger in the car from which they opened fire on Shakur's car.

In the book, he wrote that he gave the gun used in the murder to his nephew Anderson, who shot the rapper.

His lawyers had argued the book was a work of fiction and should not be used as evidence in a criminal trial in a case that happened three decades ago, but a judge ruled it could be used in court.

His defense team pointed to missing police reports, disputed evidence and "biased, sloppy and incomplete" work by investigators.

They argued that the prosecution relied on "unreliable people with criminal records, financial motives and conflicting testimony." The defense also argued that witnesses changed their testimony over time.

Opening statements began Monday after a week of jury selection. Over the next few weeks, witnesses, experts, investigators and perhaps even some celebrities will be expected to testify about what happened that night.

Prosecutors allege Davis purchased a gun and arranged for a two-car ride to a club in Las Vegas; One of them, a white Cadillac, carried three other men, including his nephew Anderson.

Palal told jurors the men decided to "get drunk and go back to the Las Vegas Strip to party." However, on the way, they saw a convoy of cars - and in one of them they noticed Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suege” Knight.

Palal claims that's when Davis and the other passengers in the Cadillac decided to turn around and confront Shakur and Knight. Davis, who was sitting in the passenger seat, handed the gun to Anderson, who fired into Shakur's car, he said.

“We were leaning over, taking off our seat belts, when we heard gunshots,” Stokes testified. “All hell has broken loose.”