Trial of Duane 'Keffe D' Davis underway in 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur

The criminal trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis began Monday in Las Vegas, Nevada in connection with the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.

Davis, 63, is charged with one count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in Shakur's death, with prosecutors stating in their opening arguments that he orchestrated, planned and directed the fatal shooting in an act of revenge.

"Let's be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation for the beating of his nephew," Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors during opening statements to the jury.

"Remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself," Palal said, adding that Davis exhibited "visceral anger" at Shakur for years.

Davis has pleaded not guilty to the charge and his defense attorneys argued that there is a "lack of facts in the case."

Prosecutors showed jurors video of Shakur's entourage attacking Davis's nephew Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson inside the MGM Grand hours before the shooting on Sept. 7, 1996, then told the jury that Davis allegedly spent the next two hours "planning how to get even."

During previous interviews with the FBI in 1998 and 1999, Davis admitted that he was in Las Vegas the night of the shooting but denied any responsibility or involvement in Shakur's killing.

However, Davis's alleged connection to Shakur's murder came to light during a 2008 interview with a federal task force investigating the killing of Shakur's rival, the Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace), in which Davis talked about Shakur's shooting. He told investigators that he handed a gun to the men in the back seat of a white Cadillac that fired on a black BMW with Shakur inside.

That admission to authorities to his role in Shakur's killing led to charges being filed against Davis, with prosecutors stating that he was the "one person who has a hard time being silent."

"And now 30 years later, we're going to ask you to finally hold Duane Davis accountable," Palal told the jury.

Davis also co-authored a 2019 memoir entitled "Compton Street Legend" that prosecutors said included details of his own involvement in Shakur's murder, but Davis's attorneys told the jury that they do not have a case against their client.

"The state has just told you what they believe is the evidence in this case," Davis's attorney Michael Sanft told jurors. "What they are telling you, they are representing as fact, when it's really fiction."