Jury seated for Tupac Shakur murder trial

A jury was seated in Las Vegas on Thursday for the murder trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis, the former gang leader accused of orchestrating the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur nearly three decades ago. The selection of twelve jurors and four alternates clears the way for opening statements, which are scheduled to begin on Tuesday, August 18, 2026.

Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder with a deadly weapon to promote or assist a criminal gang. The case stems from the fatal shooting of Shakur, then 25, on September 7, 1996. Shakur was a passenger in a BMW driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight when gunfire erupted from a Cadillac at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip. Knight survived, but Shakur died six days later. Prosecutors state they do not believe Davis fired the weapon, but that he acted as the organizer, provided the gun, and made the decisions that led to the attack. Under Nevada law, a person can be convicted of murder for aiding or directing a killing.

The trial is expected to last about a month and will be largely built on Davis's own past statements. The case was revived after Davis published a 2019 memoir, "Compton Street Legend,"...