The trial of Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis, accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, starts Monday in Las Vegas. Davis, 63, faces one charge of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in Shakur’s death.

Trial Details

Jury selection begins Monday, with the trial scheduled to last about a month. The trial will bring to a head one of the biggest mysteries in the hip-hop world that gripped the public for decades. Shakur, who also went by the stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, is considered one of the most influential rappers of all time.

Shakur was shot in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996. He was in a black BMW with music mogul Marion ‘Suge’ Knight on their way to Club 662, where Shakur was scheduled to perform, when a white Cadillac pulled up beside them. Gunfire erupted. Shakur, who was in the passenger seat, was shot multiple times and died six days later, while Knight survived.

Witnesses and Testimony

Prosecutors expect to call between 35 and 45 witnesses during the trial, ranging from people who saw Shakur moments before he was shot to people who were in both Shakur and Davis’ orbits at the time. Their witness list includes former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and members of Shakur’s family.

Leonard Jefferson, a California resident who pulled up next to the BMW and snapped a photograph, which became the last known photo of Shakur, is expected to testify. The state is also expected to call Denvonta Lee, who was affiliated with the South Side Crips.

Davis’ defense attorney is expected to call less than a handful of witnesses, including one expert in the area of false confessions and coercive interrogation techniques.

Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.