Trial begins in 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur

Opening statements began Monday in a Las Vegas courtroom for the murder trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis, the man accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur. The trial marks a pivotal moment in one of America's most famous unsolved cases, nearly three decades after the fatal shooting.

Davis, a 63-year-old former leader of the Southside Crips gang, faces charges of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further, or assist a criminal gang. He has pleaded not guilty and faces life in prison without parole if convicted. Prosecutors allege Davis was the "shot caller" who planned the retaliation attack that killed Shakur on September 7, 1996. The rapper died six days later on September 13, 1996.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors that while Davis did not pull the trigger, he orchestrated the drive-by shooting in revenge for a beating his nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, received from Shakur and his entourage earlier that night outside the MGM Grand hotel. The attack, Palal stated, was rooted in a longstanding rivalry between the Southside Crips and the Mob Piru gang, which was associated with Death Row Records and its CEO,...