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Tupac Shakur’s murder trial entered its second day on Tuesday with graphic autopsy photos and a witness who refused to cooperate, while gunfire erupted near the courthouse in a chaotic scene out of a movie.
According to 8 News Now, Metro police responded to a report of gunfire at a Starbucks near the Downtown Las Vegas courthouse around 1 P.M.
Officers rushed to the 500 block of Casino Center Boulevard but found no victim. The investigation is still ongoing, but the incident didn’t disrupt the trial proceedings.
The trial of Duane “Keefe D” Davis, the man prosecutors say orchestrated the legendary rapper’s 1996 killing, has already delivered the kind of raw courtroom drama that’s been missing from Hip-Hop’s biggest unsolved mystery for three decades.
On Monday, August 17, prosecutors laid out their case that Keefe D served as the on-the-ground, on-site commander of the effort to kill Tupac, claiming he ordered the hit in retaliation for an assault on his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson.
Keefe D pleaded not guilty, and prosecutors made clear they’re not alleging he pulled the trigger himself. Instead, they’re building a conspiracy case around his alleged role in orchestrating the entire operation.
The opening statements set the tone for what’s expected to be a month-long trial that’ll finally put the details of that September 1996 drive-by shooting into a courtroom record.
By Tuesday, August 18, the prosecution shifted to the evidence. Prosecutors displayed graphic autopsy photos of Tupac’s body, showing multiple chest wounds that left the courtroom silent. Some of Tupac’s family members walked out, unable to handle the images, while others stayed to witness the painful evidence.
Tupac’s cousin Zayd Akinyela told reporters afterward that seeing the photos, as difficult as they were, actually helped him process 30 years of grief. I think we’ve been waiting 30 years to grieve properly, he said.
The day’s most memorable moment came when James “Mob James” McDonald, a former associate of Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight, took the stand and immediately told attorneys, “You better treat me as a hostile witness.
McDonald refused to fully cooperate, saying “Me or anybody else bringing up the dead is wrong,” and emphasizing he was only there because he’d been subpoenaed.
The trial resumes Wednesday, with more witness testimony expected to continue building the prosecution’s case against Keefe D.
