Jurors Hear 2008 Police Interview in Tupac Shakur Murder Trial

Jurors in the trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis heard a recorded 2008 interview with detectives in which Davis claimed his nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur in 1996. Davis is accused of orchestrating the killing of the hip hop superstar in Las Vegas. According to the recording, Davis and Anderson were in a white Cadillac with two other men when they pulled up alongside a car containing Shakur and Death Row Records head Marion "Suge" Knight. Davis told detectives that because Knight's car was on the opposite side, he passed his gun to Deandre "Big Dre" Smith, who declined it, leading Anderson to take the weapon and fire.

Prosecutors are relying on this recording, as well as Davis's 2019 memoir "Compton Street Legend" and various podcast interviews, to build their case. The defense has argued that Davis's public statements were "fiction" or "bullsh*t" and that authorities were aware he was not telling the truth. The 2008 interview was originally conducted as part of a proffer agreement related to drug charges and the investigation into the death of the Notorious BIG. While detectives told Davis at the time that nothing he said would be used against him, prosecutors argue that Davis nullified this agreement by later discussing the shooting in his book and public interviews.

During the proceedings, the court heard that the shooting was intended as revenge for an attack on Anderson's entourage at the MGM Grand earlier that evening. Davis described seeing Shakur hanging out of a black BMW and later believed that Knight had been killed during the shooting. Davis has pleaded not guilty to the charges.