A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was killed, a former gang member goes on trial today for his murder. Shakur got into a fight in the lobby of the Las Vegas MGM Grand Hotel in 1996. A few hours later, he was hit in a drive-by shooting and died six days later. Since then, there have been all sorts of theories about who did it. Reporter Steve Futterman is in Las Vegas for the trial. Steve, so take us back to 1996. Remind us of those circumstances.
STEVE FUTTERMAN, BYLINE: Yeah. Well, much of that's official say stem from a feud between a pair of rival gangs. Tupac Shakur was here in Las Vegas, attending a Mike Tyson fight at the MGM Grand. As he was leaving the hotel with his entourage, he spotted Orlando Anderson in the lobby. Shakur believed Anderson had been involved in an earlier attack on a member of Death Row Records, which was Shakur's label. In the MGM security video, Shakur is seen punching Anderson. Others get involved before it's broken up.
The prosecution believes the fatal shooting of Shakur a couple hours later was retaliation for that. Prosecutors say the man on trial, Duane Davis, orchestrated the killing and provided the gun. He was also allegedly in the vehicle that drove up next to Shakur when he was shot. Now, police knew much of this almost from the start, but they never had enough evidence to bring charges.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. So there are charges now. So what has changed?
FUTTERMAN: Well, in 2019, Duane Davis wrote a memoir. And in that book, he talked about being in the vehicle, supplying the weapon. Well, you can imagine what Las Vegas police thought when they saw that. They reopened the investigation. Still, it took four years to bring charges. The key part of the prosecution's case against Davis is going to be what he said. Here's Laurie Levenson. She's a former federal prosecutor who's not involved in this case.
LAURIE LEVENSON: The prosecutors don't really have any direct evidence in this case. They don't have physical evidence or even the eyewitnesses. What they have are Davis' own words, and that's what they plan to use to try to convict him in this case.
FUTTERMAN: Now, also in 2008, Davis did tell law enforcement what he knew about the killing. Davis and his attorneys say it was supposed to be confidential. Well, it was until Davis talked about it in his book and interviews. When that happened, the court ruled he violated the confidentiality agreement, and it will be used in court.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So what kind of a case will the defense put on?
FUTTERMAN: The defense strategy seems to be twofold. It admits that Davis may have said these things but argues that he was fabricating and embellishing to help increase sales of his book and embellishing for law enforcement to avoid drug charges. On top of that, Davis claims he was not even here in Vegas the night of the killing, and the defense is expected to call witnesses who will try to back that up.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. Steve, 30 years later, I mean, Tupac Shakur is still larger than life in the world of hip-hop.
FUTTERMAN: Well, he is definitely an icon. Many hip-hop stars of today view him as a major influence. Yesterday, I spoke to a young man here in Las Vegas, Tim Dunk (ph). He was born the year Shakur died, and he's a huge fan.
TIM DUNK: He wasn't afraid to show how he felt. He wasn't afraid to use his everyday life and struggles to convey it to his fans through his music.
FUTTERMAN: Now, jury selection should take a week. It begins today. Testimony is expected to last around a month, and the trial will be televised.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's Steve Futterman in Las Vegas. Steve, thanks a lot.
FUTTERMAN: Thank you, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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