Tupac Murder Trial: Keffe D Rests Defence in Under Two Hours, Closing Arguments Set for Monday
Duane 'Keffe D' Davis rested his defence at his Las Vegas murder trial in less than two hours on Thursday, calling just three witnesses before handing the case back to the prosecution. Closing arguments are set for Monday, after which the jury will begin deliberating the fate of the man prosecutors say orchestrated the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed Tupac Shakur.
Davis, an alleged leader of the South Side Compton Crips, is charged with first-degree murder in Shakur's death. Prosecutors contend he was riding in the front passenger seat of a rented white Cadillac on the Las Vegas Strip when he allowed his nephew, Orlando Anderson, to open fire from the back seat on the BMW carrying Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion 'Suge' Knight. The state's theory is retaliation: roughly two hours earlier, Shakur and his entourage had attacked Anderson inside the MGM Grand after a Mike Tyson fight.
The defence, led by attorney Michael Sanft, built its entire case around three former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officers — each called to seed reasonable doubt in the jury's mind.
Former LVMPD Sgt. Stan Hyt and former Lt. Charlie Mangrum testified that on the night of the shooting they were working overtime, stationed outside Knight's Las Vegas home where he was expected to host a post-fight party. They told the court they saw a light-coloured Cadillac arrive at Knight's residence and later leave as part of a convoy that included Knight driving Shakur in his BMW. Witnesses later told police it was a light-coloured Cadillac that pulled alongside that BMW at a red light when someone in the back seat opened fire.
Under cross-examination by Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo, Mangrum said his report from that night included the licence plate numbers of every vehicle that entered Knight's property, and that homicide detectives in 1996 would have followed up on that information.
Davis's third and final witness was former LVMPD homicide Det. Dan Long, who led the Shakur murder investigation from 2002 to 2017. Long testified that the paper case file had to be "locked down" because "curious" department employees were accessing it. He also said some of his reports were later lost when the department switched electronic storage systems. Sanft focused heavily on a 2009 interview Long conducted with Davis in Los Angeles — about a year after Davis gave a secret interview to a joint LAPD and federal task force. Rolling Stone
A former police officer also testified during the defence that he was told to "stand down" on making an arrest while the matter was reviewed, according to multiple outlets covering the trial.
Earlier in the trial, jurors heard an alternate conspiracy theory implicating Reggie Wright Jr., Knight's security chief, in Shakur's killing. James McDonald — a former Knight associate and Mob Piru Bloods member known as 'Mob James' — testified under a court order on 18 August and rejected the idea that Wright wanted Shakur dead as part of a power grab.
A detective also testified about his federal immunity deal during the proceedings, the terms of which were aired before the jury ahead of closing arguments.
The trial, nearly three decades in the making, now moves to its final stage. Prosecutors and the defence will make their closing statements on Monday in a Clark County courtroom.
