Tupac murder trial begins with Suge Knight refusing to testify as ex-Crips boss Duane

Marion ‘Suge’ Knight has insisted on several occasions that he won’t be testifying against Tupac’s murder suspect despite being with the rapper when he was killed.

Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis was arrested by Las Vegas detectives in October 2023 and was charged with murder with use of a deadly weapon in Shakur’s case.

Knight, the61-year-old Death Row Records co-founder, told TMZ in 2023 that he believes police have arrested the wrong man for Tupac’s murder, and stated that he would not be taking the stand in court.

He was injured during the 1996 shooting, and despite being the only living witness, said: ‘1000% I wouldn’t go. I wouldn’t testify, none of that.’

Last week, he doubled down on his defiant statements to ABC News, saying: ‘This trial has nothing to do with me and if somebody brings me there, it’s gonna hurt whoever brings me there. I promise you that.’

Knight is currently serving a 28-year jail sentence for a hit-and-run crash in 2015.

Shakur’s death came as his fourth solo album, ‘All Eyez on Me,’ remained on the charts, with some 5 million copies sold.

Nominated six times for a Grammy Award, Shakur is largely considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time.

He was feuding at the time with rap rival Biggie Smalls, also known as the Notorious B.I.G., who was fatally shot in March 1997.

At the time, both rappers were in the middle of an East Coast-West Coast rivalry that primarily defined the hip-hop scene during the mid-1990s.

Shakur accused Biggie and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, of being behind another shooting in 1994.

He was shot in a hotel lobby and was seriously injured, but survived the attack, accusing both of the rappers of being linked to the attack.

In September 2023, Mopreme Shakur, Tupac’s step-brother, called Keffe D’s arrest 27 years after the death of the rapper ‘bittersweet’.

‘We have been through decades of pain,’ he told CNN at the time, ‘They have known about this guy, who been running his mouth, for years.

‘So why now? For us, this is not over. We want to know why, and if there were any accomplices.’

Shakur was 25 years old when he was shot four times in the chest on September 7, 1996 while he was in Las Vegas. He died on September 13.

The rapper was in a BMW driven by Suge Knight in a convoy of about 10 cars.

They were waiting at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them and gunfire erupted.

Cops say that Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis started to ‘devise a plan’ to kill Shakur and Knight after they attacked his nephew at a Mike Tyson boxing match.

Davis has spoken openly about being at the scene of the drive-by shooting 27 years ago, and admitted handing the murder weapon that killed Tupac Shakur to a fellow gang member. Davis is the only one who was in the car that night who is still alive.

Davis was arrested in Henderson, Nevada, after he was indicted by a grand jury in October 2023. He was charged with murder with a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement.

Witnesses in the case pointed to Davis as being a member of the South Side Crips and a known drug trafficker. Shakur was affiliated with gangs, including the Bloods and Mob Piru, but was not considered a member.

For years, Davis has spoken about his apparent role in the death of the rapper in numerous interviews, including in a memoir about his life on the streets.

Investigators have released never before seen photos and videos showing the last moments of rap star Tupac Shakur’s life following the first ever arrest made in the murder.

Cops released new details surrounding the arrest of Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis, the man charged in connection with the rapper’s death in September 1996.

The new video shows Shakur and Death Row Records CEO Marion ‘Suge’ Knight leading an entourage of dozens to attack rival gang member Orlando ‘Baby Lane’ Anderson in the lobby of the MGM Grand just hours before the shooting.

The clip goes on to show Shakur and others kicking Anderson as he lies on the ground. Security guards surround the melee but do not intervene. Shakur and Knight then leave the building before the police arrive.