Los Angeles gang leader murder case

A former street gang leader orchestrated the 1996 drive-by shooting of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas in retribution for the beating of his nephew, a prosecutor told jurors during opening statements in a murder trial tied to a long-unsolved crime that became a seminal moment in rap history.



Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, is charged in Nevada's Clark County with a single count of murder using a deadly weapon.



He has pleaded not guilty.



Davis is accused of leading a group of men to kill Shakur, 25, who was one of rap's most commercially successful and influential artists, in a drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip.



"You will learn that when the opportunity presented itself for retribution, Duane Davis made sure that the shooters were armed and ready to execute their plan. And remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself," prosecutor Binu Palal told the jurors in a downtown Las Vegas courthouse, referring to recent public statements by Davis that revived the long-dormant case.



Defense lawyer Michael Sandt said that after 30 years, investigators still have very little evidence to prove their case. Sandt also said Davis had a habit of talking "bullshit," and that the accounts he offered in interviews and his book could not be corroborated.