The murder trial of Duane Keith Davis, accused of orchestrating the 1996 shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur, entered its closing phase this week as jurors in Las Vegas prepared to begin deliberations. Davis faces one count of murder with the use of a deadly weapon, stemming from allegations that he acquired the firearm used in the attack. He has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors allege that on the night of September 7, 1996, Davis was one of four individuals in a white Cadillac that pulled alongside a BMW carrying Shakur and his record label chief Marion Knight, known as Suge. The prosecution contends Davis was a key figure in the shooting, though he did not pull the trigger himself. Central to the case are Davis’s own prior statements, including interviews and a 2019 self-published memoir, in which he recounts his involvement.

During the trial, jurors heard repeated audio of Davis describing the events. In a 2008 interview and under a proffer agreement, Davis said an associate of Sean Combs, whose record company was involved in a long-standing feud with Knight’s Death Row Records, provided the weapon to him. Davis said he acted in retaliation for an attack on his nephew, Orlando Anderson. After failing to locate Shakur and Knight at a club, Davis claimed that while en route to a hotel, he spotted the BMW, passed the gun to the back seat, and that Anderson fired the shots. Variations of this account appeared in later interviews, including a 2009 law enforcement interview and a documentary-related conversation. At times, Davis denied knowing who fired the weapon. His former and current attorneys have suggested Davis’s statements may be exaggerated or self-promoting.

The defense questioned the strength of the prosecution’s case, highlighting a lack of physical evidence linking Davis to the crime scene or the murder weapon. A former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police detective testified that efforts to locate the Cadillac and the gun were unsuccessful. Another officer said ballistic tests on recovered bullet casings produced no matches in national databases, both in 2003 and 2023. Evidence potentially tying Davis to Las Vegas that night, such as hotel receipts and casino bills, were discussed, but their current whereabouts are unknown.

Testimony also provided insight into Davis’s standing within Compton’s gang landscape. Robert Ladd, a retired Compton Police Department detective, described Davis as a "shot caller" within the South Side Compton Crips, who held influence over other gang members. Ladd recounted a series of retaliatory shootings following Shakur’s death during the intense East Coast-West Coast record label rivalry. He testified that if Davis and his associates were in the Cadillac as alleged, Davis would have directed the shooting. The defense underscored that no one in the Cadillac was harmed in subsequent violence and stressed that Ladd had no definitive proof Davis ordered any attacks.

With closing arguments scheduled, the jury must now assess the evidentiary value of Davis’s admissions alongside the absence of forensic proof as they determine his responsibility in the high-profile killing that struck at the heart of the 1990s hip-hop industry.