LAS VEGAS (AP) \u2014 Opening statements are set to begin Monday in the trial of a man accused of orchestrating the killing of Tupac Shakur, kicking off weeks of testimony that will revisit what happened on a Las Vegas nearly 30 years ago. <\/p>\n
Duane \u201cKeffe D\u201d Davis, 63, is charged with murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in the rapper\u2019s death. He pleaded not guilty, but if convicted, faces life in prison. <\/p>\n
The long-unsolved drive-by shooting gripped the hip-hop community, partly because no one was charged until Davis<\/a> was indicted in 2023. <\/p>\n Shakur remains a cultural icon<\/a> and is considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time, despite dying at 25. He was nominated for six Grammy Awards<\/a> and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.<\/p>\n In recent years, he received a posthumous star<\/a> on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, had a street in Oakland named in his honor<\/a> and inspired a character on the upcoming video game \u201cStranger than Heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the course of the trial, which could span weeks, prosecutors plan to call 35 to 45 potential witnesses, and the defense will call only a handful to testify.<\/p>\n Members of Shakur\u2019s family are expected to be in the courtroom Monday. Shakur\u2019s stepbrother, Maurice \u201cMopreme\u201d Shakur, recently told The Associated Press that sitting through the trial will be retraumatizing for the family, but it\u2019s important to be there.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re gonna stand by Pac as we always have,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n All eyes on Tupac<\/p>\n Along with Shakur\u2019s family, friends and fans traveled to Las Vegas to show their support during jury selection.<\/p>\n Darryl Harper, a veteran music producer who collaborated with Shakur at Death Row Records on songs released after the 1996 shooting, said he booked a plane ticket as soon as the latest trial date was set.<\/p>\n \u201cHe became a personal friend of mine as I worked with him almost every day of his last days here,\u201d said Harper, who flew in from his home in Georgia.<\/p>\n Harper hopes the trial will reveal the truth about who was involved with the shooting.<\/p>\n \u201cMy prayer is that it\u2019s the right person,\u201d he said outside the court during jury selection. \u201cIf he\u2019s the right person, then I\u2019m glad that Tupac would get some kind of redemption finally. I think he deserves it.\u201d<\/p>\n