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Witnesses in Tupac Shakur’s murder trial recall the moments leading up to his shooting
Confirmed
Still, Palal pointed to the rivalry between the South Side Compton Crips and Mob Piru, the fight with Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson and testimony that members of Shakur’s circle identified Anderson and Davis as suspects the night of the shooting.
During the trial, investigators said a Las Vegas hotel bill was found at Davis’ residence during a police search, but it wasn’t clear when it was dated — or where that evidence is currently located. Prosecutors argued Monday that their murder case against Duane “ Keffe D ” Davis rested on far more than his own words about Tupac Shakur ’s 1996 killing.
Palal said the evidence showed Davis and his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, were prominent members of the South Side Compton Crips who believed they had to respond with violence after Shakur and Death Row Records founder Suge Knight attacked Anderson inside the MGM Grand casino hours before Shakur was fatally shot.
Palal also argued the shooting was premeditated, pointing to testimony and Davis’ accounts that the group initially searched for Shakur before later spotting him on the road and making a U-turn. Davis, he argued, could simply have claimed he heard about the killing rather than placing himself inside the rented white Cadillac with his nephew, or could have blamed someone else altogether.
Palal acknowledged that Davis’ accounts of the killing evolved over the years but argued those differences reflected Davis’ changing motivations and efforts to protect himself. Although the book contains a disclaimer saying some facts were changed, Palal argued that names, hotels and other details changed while the central account did not.
Prosecutors haven’t argued that Davis pulled the trigger, but instead that he was criminally responsible because he provided the gun and ordered the attack. In multiple interviews, Davis said he handed the gun to the back seat, but in others as well as in his book, Davis wouldn’t say who pulled the trigger.
“It makes no sense ‘to put that smut’ … on somebody that you love,” Palal said, invoking testimony about Davis identifying Anderson as the gunman. One critical detail, he said, remained consistent: Davis repeatedly placed himself inside the white Cadillac from which the shots were fired.
While reading an excerpt, he said the N-word aloud, prompting people watching in an overflow courtroom to recoil and shake their heads. Palal also pointed to a detail Davis provided to authorities in 2008 that, he said, had not previously been made public.
What's confirmed
- Still, Palal pointed to the rivalry between the South Side Compton Crips and Mob Piru, the fight with Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson and testimony that members of Shakur’s circle identified Anderson and Davis as…
- Palal said the evidence showed Davis and his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, were prominent members of the South Side Compton Crips who believed they had to respond with violence after Shakur and Death Row…
- Still, Palal pointed to the rivalry between the South Side Compton Crips and Mob Piru, the fight with Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson and testimony that members of Shakur’s circle identified Anderson and Davis as suspects t
- During the trial, investigators said a Las Vegas hotel bill was found at Davis’ residence during a police search, but it wasn’t clear when it was dated — or where that evidence is currently located.
- Palal said the evidence showed Davis and his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, were prominent members of the South Side Compton Crips who believed they had to respond with violence after Shakur and Death Row Records
- Palal also argued the shooting was premeditated, pointing to testimony and Davis’ accounts that the group initially searched for Shakur before later spotting him on the road and making a U-turn.
What's still developing
- Palal acknowledged that Davis’ accounts of the killing evolved over the years but argued those differences reflected Davis’ changing motivations and efforts to protect himself.
- One critical detail, he said, remained consistent: Davis repeatedly placed himself inside the white Cadillac from which the shots were fired.
- Prosecutors haven’t argued that Davis pulled the trigger, but instead that he was criminally responsible because he provided the gun and ordered the attack.
- “The shot caller doesn’t just ride along,” Palal said.
- Palal also argued the shooting was premeditated, pointing to testimony and Davis’ accounts that the group initially searched for Shakur before later spotting him on the road and making a U-turn.
- Although the book contains a disclaimer saying some facts were changed, Palal argued that names, hotels and other details changed while the central account did not.
- “It is an entirely different proposition to be profiting from a murder,” Palal said.
- While reading an excerpt, he said the N-word aloud, prompting people watching in an overflow courtroom to recoil and shake their heads.