LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was gunned down near the Las Vegas Strip, jury selection began Monday for the only man ever charged in the rapper’s murder.
WATCH | Senior reporter Alyssa Bethencourt breaks down how we got here and day one of jury selection:
Duane “Keefe D” Davis is accused of orchestrating the September 1996 drive-by shooting that killed Shakur. Prosecutors say Davis did not fire the fatal shots, but provided the gun and ordered the hit.
Davis has pleaded not guilty.
The long-awaited trial began Monday morning with a pool of 75 potential jurors at the Regional Justice Center in downtown Las Vegas.
Much of the morning focused not on the details of the high-profile murder case, but on a practical question: Who could commit to serving on a trial expected to last about a month?
Potential jurors told the judge about work conflicts, pre-planned commitments and other hardships that could prevent them from serving.
By the afternoon, more than two dozen prospective jurors had been dismissed.
The questioning then turned to the case itself.
Prospective jurors were questioned individually about what they already knew about Shakur’s murder and Davis’ alleged involvement, along with whether they had already formed opinions that could prevent them from being fair and impartial.
An extensive list of potential witnesses was also read in court that included several high-profile figures, including Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
One of the most significant names on the list is former Death Row Records executive Marion “Suge” Knight.
Knight was driving the BMW with Shakur in the passenger seat on the night of Sept. 7, 1996, when a white Cadillac pulled alongside them near Flamingo Road and Koval Lane and someone inside opened fire.
Shakur was shot multiple times and died six days later. Knight was injured but survived.
Speaking exclusively to ABC News from prison, where he is serving time in an unrelated case, Knight said he believes Davis could have a difficult time distancing himself from his own previous statements about the killing.
“Everything he said and he talked about … he already told on himself,” Knight said.
Those statements are expected to play a major role in the prosecution’s case.
For decades after Shakur’s murder, no one was charged.
Davis later spoke publicly about the night of the shooting in interviews and in his 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend.”
Prosecutors allege the shooting was retaliation for a fight at the MGM Grand earlier that night, where Shakur and members of his entourage attacked Davis’ nephew.
Hours later, Shakur was riding with Knight when the white Cadillac pulled alongside their BMW.
Prosecutors say Davis was inside the Cadillac. They do not allege he was the gunman, but instead accuse him of helping orchestrate the killing and providing the weapon used in the attack.
Davis’ defense has challenged the significance of his previous statements and maintains they do not prove he ordered Shakur’s murder.
Jury selection is expected to continue Tuesday.
