‘You better treat me as a hostile witness,’ Suge Knight associate testifies
Minutes after testifying that it was “impossible” that Reggie Wright Jr was involved in the murder of Tupac Shakur, James McDonald, a former associate of Death Row Records executive Suge Knight, refused to go into detail about the beating of Orlando Anderson at the MGM Hotel, and how that beating fueled ongoing tensions between rival factions in Compton.
“Me or anybody else bringing up the dead is wrong,” McDonald said.
“I told every attorney that tried to get me in here, you’d better treat me as a hostile witness. And I think that’s where I’m about to know now, because you’re asking me questions–I can’t answer those questions.”
Right after Shakur’s shooting, McDonald said he immediaely left Las Vegas for California. “We knew we were going to have neighborhood issues,” he said. “It’s time to go and protect your home front. Like the other side was being prepared and was prepared to do things because Orlando got beat up in there ,and that’s something that you don’t tolerate.”
Asked why Orlando was targeted in Las Vegas, McDonald said: “I’m aware of a lot of things, things that was going on. People ain’t talked about it in 30 years. Today ain’t one of them. I don’t mean to be funny. But, here’s the things: a lot of things happened that night, a lot of things happened weeks and weeks after that night. Me or anybody else bringing up the dead is wrong. A lot of people got hurt behind this situation in itself.”
“Living the life in how we lived in Compton is one thing. You bring back all of the guys who made it, like me, I’m 61 years old now, to rehash and relive this situation.”
It’s worth noting that Orlando Anderson, the nephew of Duane “Keefe D” Davis, whose beating prosecutors say prompted Shakur’s killing, has been dead since 1998.
“,”elementId”:”c1276ee8-fb83-4667-bf39-54429d209420″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“I don’t want to send him to prison, even though we don’t like each other,” McDonald said, apparently pointing to Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis, who is sitting in the courtroom directly behind his attorney. “I don’t want to send you to prison,” McDonald repeated.
“,”elementId”:”8d86b5b2-8548-4858-88d3-29d0313f87bf”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
A reaction shot of Davis on the courtroom livestream showed no reaction from a grim-faced Davis.
“,”elementId”:”b84d4e9f-8b5e-4a40-9f13-a56fa3d7ec08″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“I changed my life. I’m raising my grandkids, teaching them never to be like their Pawpaw, and here I am, explaining to people what I used to be, and I’m not proud of that, I’m not proud of that at all,” McDonald went on. “You’re asking me questions that can hurt him, and like I told them, I’m trying to avoid to answer the questions.”
“,”elementId”:”405bae0b-c0aa-4b2a-858e-3506f59af40f”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1787091504000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”18.18 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1787092263000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”18.31 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1787092024000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”18.27 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”18.27″,”title”:”‘I don’t want to send you to prison,’ Suge Knight associate tells Duane Davis from stand”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 18 Aug 2026 18.52 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 18 Aug 2026 12.40 EDT”},{“id”:”6a84d5a68f08b5e58fff1b32″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
After Shakur’s shooting, in Compton neighborhoods, “It was tension in the air for quite a long time,” said James McDonald, a 61-year-old former associate of Death Row Records founder Suge Knight, who was injured in the shooting that killed Tupac Shakur. “Until I guess both sides said, and he might agree, just said let that shit go.”
“,”elementId”:”083962c9-a709-447f-8937-8c3e843571cd”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“It wasn’t really our beef. This was between Suge Knight and Keefe D.”
“,”elementId”:”a91b5302-7b31-4e17-a718-27562ba7c3b8″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Duane “Keefe D” Davis, who has been charged in Shakur’s murder, has been watching McDonald’s testimony closely from the courtroom, and frowning.
“,”elementId”:”910c278e-ade8-4da2-bd4a-c8524d7c6520″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“People put theyselves in situations, like myself, I’m guilty as everybody else, like msyelf, I put myself in the situation to protect something and somebody who didn’t have nothing to do with me. I did it for a paycheck. I did it on some just because. I’m older now. I get it. But we did things for all the wrong reasons, at that time, in them days.”
“,”elementId”:”0ab89241-aba9-4703-8b03-5310fa39721e”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1787090342000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”17.59 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1787090941000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”18.09 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1787090822000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”18.07 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”18.07″,”title”:”‘This was between Suge Knight and Keefe D,’ Knight associate testifies”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 18 Aug 2026 18.52 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 18 Aug 2026 12.40 EDT”},{“id”:”6a84d0d88f084e346fe0e31b”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Minutes after testifying that it was “impossible” that Reggie Wright Jr was involved in the murder of Tupac Shakur, James McDonald, a former associate of Death Row Records executive Suge Knight, refused to go into detail about the beating of Orlando Anderson at the MGM Hotel, and how that beating fueled ongoing tensions between rival factions in Compton.
“,”elementId”:”2aadd175-294d-4d6b-b011-23dd536ec88b”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“Me or anybody else bringing up the dead is wrong,” McDonald said.
“,”elementId”:”f2423563-2474-4fdc-8c9d-572cf6142872″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“I told every attorney that tried to get me in here, you’d better treat me as a hostile witness. And I think that’s where I’m about to know now, because you’re asking me questions–I can’t answer those questions.”
“,”elementId”:”0c801554-b30b-4ad6-8c5a-af7bcee9b0ec”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Right after Shakur’s shooting, McDonald said he immediaely left Las Vegas for California. “We knew we were going to have neighborhood issues,” he said. “It’s time to go and protect your home front. Like the other side was being prepared and was prepared to do things because Orlando got beat up in there ,and that’s something that you don’t tolerate.”
“,”elementId”:”14d2e0dd-76a5-4f0d-8281-61f4ed720d02″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Asked why Orlando was targeted in Las Vegas, McDonald said: “I’m aware of a lot of things, things that was going on. People ain’t talked about it in 30 years. Today ain’t one of them. I don’t mean to be funny. But, here’s the things: a lot of things happened that night, a lot of things happened weeks and weeks after that night. Me or anybody else bringing up the dead is wrong. A lot of people got hurt behind this situation in itself.”
“,”elementId”:”45987918-af60-486a-93c0-662e648103d9″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“Living the life in how we lived in Compton is one thing. You bring back all of the guys who made it, like me, I’m 61 years old now, to rehash and relive this situation.”
“,”elementId”:”8c46a19f-95d6-42f5-b296-f0116b691617″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
It’s worth noting that Orlando Anderson, the nephew of Duane “Keefe D\” Davis, whose beating prosecutors say prompted Shakur’s killing, has been dead since 1998.
“,”elementId”:”e2c0a5f9-8b52-496b-8d38-ee0d7ee310ee”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:true,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1787089112000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”17.38 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1787089920000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”17.52 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1787089726000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”17.48 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”17.48″,”title”:”‘You better treat me as a hostile witness,’ Suge Knight associate testifies”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 18 Aug 2026 18.52 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 18 Aug 2026 12.40 EDT”},{“id”:”6a84ce738f08ca724d3b6d72″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
A prosecutor just asked James McDonald, a 61-year-old former associate of Death Row Records executive Suge Knight, if Reggie Wright Jr, the former head of security for Death Row Records, was involved in Shakur’s killing.
“,”elementId”:”958ae48e-fc2f-47ed-b0d0-89746f0e6d0d”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Reggie Wright Jr was with McDonald at club 662 when they found out about Shakur’s shooting the night of 7 September, McDonald said.
“,”elementId”:”9630e903-fefa-4327-a77b-2286a059e129″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“Did it appear to you in any way that Reggie Wright Jr was coordinating the murder of Tupac Shakur?” chief deputy district attorney Binu Palal asked.
“,”elementId”:”1f443bc6-27ea-4630-b49c-5e84770bd3cf”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“Impossible,” McDonald said.
“,”elementId”:”29034408-c30c-4f4b-8b50-9215a6b66b52″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“And I say this because you’re aware there have been some conspiracy theories that Reggier Wright Jr. is responsible for the murder of Tupac,” Palal said.
“,”elementId”:”eb3d9c69-300b-45d0-9dc7-30c5a5b230b8″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“And it’s so not true,” McDonald said, emphasizing that he had known Wright for decades and known his father. “…If Reggie Killed Tupac, than Death Row is over with. Tupac was the money source. Tupac was that guy on Death Row. So, it’s–Reggie would have had a problem if he did that. And Suge, I truly believe, Suge would have opened his mouth if Reggie betrayed him like that. So, people say what they want to say.”
“,”elementId”:”24e647a7-5196-48f6-9d75-1f57b9213271″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1787088499000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”17.28 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1787089105000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”17.38 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1787089051000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”17.37 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”17.37″,”title”:”‘Impossible,’ that Reggie Wright Jr was involved in Tupac’s death, associate testifies”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 18 Aug 2026 18.52 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 18 Aug 2026 12.40 EDT”},{“id”:”6a84a73d8f08ca724d3b6c4f”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The next witness is William Heidmeyer, a former security officer at the Maxim Hotel and Casino, now known as the Westin.
“,”elementId”:”10cf88f0-36e0-45fb-9ec6-8e2c245e8e11″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The night of Shakur’s killing in 1996, he was working with Las Vegas police officers to investigate the theft of some vehicles on the third floor of a Las Vegas parking garage.
“,”elementId”:”518bf43e-dba7-4683-a361-482c802b9647″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“We just suddenly heard a lot of gunfire, and we ran to the barrier wall that was overlooking” Koval and Flamingo streets in Las Vegas.
“,”elementId”:”4f6c6658-38ad-44b7-aa4a-acf5ab3c3554″},{“displayCredit”:true,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement”,”role”:”inline”,”media”:{“allImages”:[{“index”:0,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:4″,”height”:”3000″,”width”:”3750″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/3750.jpg”},{“index”:1,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:4″,”isMaster”:”true”,”height”:”3000″,”width”:”3750″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg”},{“index”:2,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:4″,”height”:”1600″,”width”:”2000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/2000.jpg”},{“index”:3,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:4″,”height”:”800″,”width”:”1000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/1000.jpg”},{“index”:4,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:4″,”height”:”400″,”width”:”500″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/500.jpg”},{“index”:5,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:4″,”height”:”112″,”width”:”140″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/140.jpg”}]},”elementId”:”396b00c2-ea0a-4bf9-9d46-21273d057202″,”imageSources”:[{“weighting”:”inline”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0c881b08275d40dcd0a775ad42955d38″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=d3320350affc71166ab06d80f24c27c3″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=60c49be83ebbbd288bd01b895de882f3″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=25bee4f112d5d5142f197d081b45d13f”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=37d45a8e7b9b2d9c0399a500f66ab250″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=492fe712018b55005f5e89a1b61f427f”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”thumbnail”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=7e59418474777a6dca1f52fc689fc734″,”width”:140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4dcd6371a89ea9628b15918b322dc1c9″,”width”:280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=120&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4a4bb679c6823e7b15834a8f697bf943″,”width”:120},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=120&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=391dcbf3985649524aa1cf879aa1056b”,”width”:240}]},{“weighting”:”supporting”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=380&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=12cf7d59f8c866de47b2c076294adf03″,”width”:380},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=380&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=182b49c3959764e68b2b367ec16dee30″,”width”:760},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=cce3b18cb01c2913730acf31e967daec”,”width”:300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=97d98f62d81c1fe57045a4327026a1ef”,”width”:600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0c881b08275d40dcd0a775ad42955d38″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=d3320350affc71166ab06d80f24c27c3″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=60c49be83ebbbd288bd01b895de882f3″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=25bee4f112d5d5142f197d081b45d13f”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=37d45a8e7b9b2d9c0399a500f66ab250″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=492fe712018b55005f5e89a1b61f427f”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”showcase”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=860&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=97e6fa288db2b1aa057dcb47b722c924″,”width”:860},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=860&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=cdad4c646396403f3e3e25bc0c15e33b”,”width”:1720},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=780&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a201a9af757a060fbcc9dbb6ff3d43eb”,”width”:780},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=780&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=d3118e76e04da05156c1a54defafbdf8″,”width”:1560},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0c881b08275d40dcd0a775ad42955d38″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=d3320350affc71166ab06d80f24c27c3″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=60c49be83ebbbd288bd01b895de882f3″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=25bee4f112d5d5142f197d081b45d13f”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=37d45a8e7b9b2d9c0399a500f66ab250″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=492fe712018b55005f5e89a1b61f427f”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”halfwidth”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0c881b08275d40dcd0a775ad42955d38″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=d3320350affc71166ab06d80f24c27c3″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=60c49be83ebbbd288bd01b895de882f3″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=25bee4f112d5d5142f197d081b45d13f”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=37d45a8e7b9b2d9c0399a500f66ab250″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=492fe712018b55005f5e89a1b61f427f”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”immersive”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=1900&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=55525ad099586652fdd05c7d2a5723f8″,”width”:1900},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=1900&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=56961d0e2212a56364715ffe53daffdb”,”width”:3800},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=1300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c64d06ef23a94117890f39b1845807bd”,”width”:1300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=1300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e0344ddf0904eec327be1cf88b81447b”,”width”:2600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=1140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=8be41ba448ec3324a7e2de7454d1b49c”,”width”:1140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=1140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=d8ef8343623c6480050ea4502b5fc557″,”width”:2280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=980&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=890a9f1d471ad78e2f01771b3f17ad5d”,”width”:980},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=980&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=9ff13948a772b175b1ab9fd434c3f769″,”width”:1960},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=740&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=2d2a762f5247e52000431ec0c3904876″,”width”:740},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=740&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c762727c65332e57f174ec2cb2792b31″,”width”:1480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=660&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0d16d703782f3f0d74a63c9434c5ef1d”,”width”:660},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=660&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=20e8aa7134595b274be16219cdd17060″,”width”:1320},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=480&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=f2858e60279a1102e21fc31dd7b8e176″,”width”:480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ec94bd2b87a01d2f470cedfeb946adc9185cae73/0_0_3750_3000/master/3750.jpg?width=480&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c46fc54b2bc4000addc7e53c927d4e1b”,”width”:960}]}],”data”:{“alt”:”William Heidmeyer testifies during the murder trial of Duane \”Keffe D\” Davis related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on 18 August.”,”caption”:”William Heidmeyer testifies during the murder trial of Duane \”Keffe D\” Davis related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on 18 August.”,”credit”:”Photograph: John Locher/AP”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Heidmeyer he said he heard “three volleys” of gunfire, with “Three to four, maybe even five,” shots in each volley of gunfire.
“,”elementId”:”c41e31a1-4e10-48c0-a328-d4f59fbbcdbf”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
He described looking down at the street, seeing a line of vehicles on Flamingo, heading east, including “a white Dodge Stratus at front, a Black BMW behind it….a white Chevy suburban behind that, and several more cars.”
“,”elementId”:”43d5d561-6b9d-4262-a337-f691f8e1ab27″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
There were a number of people standing outside vehicles, including one Black man who was visibily holding a pistol in his hand, Heidmeyer said. “He wasn’t pointing it in any direction, it was just off to the side.”
“,”elementId”:”c15ad18e-0fe3-4170-aa18-dece0be51d3e”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
He described the Black man holding the pistol as “very young, well dressed, he was wearing a very bright white three-quarter sleeved shirt, black pants and a black dress vest.”
“,”elementId”:”e2e54d45-1b21-474e-aad5-86e320a092b1″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
His conclusion at the time was that the man with the gun that he had seen was the suspect in the shooting, Heidmeyer testified. “That’s what I deduced at the time.”
“,”elementId”:”75b15661-f1b7-4aa1-8815-2d332003b8ac”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Everyone on the street quickly got back in the cars and headed back towards Las Vegas Boulevard, Heidmeyer testified.
“,”elementId”:”47e85295-df78-4eba-8685-2afaccc669df”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1787078461000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”14.41 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1787080369000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”15.12 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1787079423000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”14.57 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”14.57″,”title”:”Former security officer describes witnessing aftermath of shooting”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 18 Aug 2026 18.52 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 18 Aug 2026 12.40 EDT”},{“id”:”6a84986c8f08b5e58fff197a”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
So far, the second day of the Tupac Shakur murder trial in Las Vegas has focused on authenticating some of the basic evidence in the case, with expert testimony from a Las Vegas medical examiner’s review of photographs and the autopsy report of Shakur’s body, followed by testimony from an MGM Grand surveillance expert about the surveillance footage from 1996 used in the case.
“,”elementId”:”be43ea17-3fe3-4a55-82d0-5f9fc3ef0aa8″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The MGM Grand surveillance footage is essential to the case because it establishes the motive for the shooting that killed Shakur nearly 30 years ago.
“,”elementId”:”55686aa6-666c-4d50-9f73-65b3daadddc6″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Prosecutors have charged Duane Davis, a 63-year-old former South Side Compton Crips gang leader, with orchestrating Shakur’s murder in Las Vegas in 1996, as revenge for the assault of his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, in the MGM Grand.
“,”elementId”:”e90d4964-0e82-4c1c-a67c-f403984bef91″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“Let’s be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors yesterday.
“,”elementId”:”7b33ec22-9135-4e92-9863-e3237fcd5229″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The evidence against Davis will include his own description of his role in the shooting in a 2019 memoir.
“,”elementId”:”0a172856-99ce-47da-a7b7-19c66c21fd93″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Davis’ defense attorney, Michael Sanft, has argued that Davis’ own statements about the killing were lies meant to inflate his reputation. Davis’ lawyers previously argued that his book should not be used as evidence that he and his co-author exaggerated what happened in an effort to “falsely place himself at the center of it all for personal gain”.
“,”elementId”:”5039095f-93ca-4421-9e4c-aad227658f29″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“At the end of the day you have to ask yourself: is what they are saying truth or fiction?” Sanft told the jury on Monday.
“,”elementId”:”bb0cca0e-a5ad-428b-b296-1176e8f165fe”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Sanft argued on Monday that while Davis spoke about the killing to different law enforcement agencies over the years, including the FBI, they did not follow up because, Sanft said, they did not believe what Davis said was credible.
“,”elementId”:”93517a4b-1373-465e-86ed-ac93a560aaf0″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The Associated Press contributed reporting
“,”elementId”:”3eeef918-ac1e-450a-b16b-a1bdf948db03″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1787074668000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”13.37 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1787075676000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”13.54 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1787075677000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”13.54 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”13.54″,”title”:”Did the man charged in Tupac’s death tell the truth about his role?”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 18 Aug 2026 18.52 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 18 Aug 2026 12.40 EDT”},{“id”:”6a848fcc8f084e346fe0e10f”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Dr. Lisa Gavin, a forensic pathologist in Clark County, Nevada, is now testifying as an expert analyst, reviewing the report and photos of Tupac Shakur’s body from his autopsy.
“,”elementId”:”d59c027d-6b2d-4983-8936-c2a5325b73af”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Highlighting the challenges of holding a murder trial 30 years after a death actually occurred, the medical examiner who actually conducted the autopsy has since died.
“,”elementId”:”e0aeb09d-704c-49c0-a2f8-cf997b3f93f0″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Gavin noted that she was in medical school in 1996, but has years of experience in interpreting evidence.
“,”elementId”:”85ad355d-ffdd-4c6e-bfba-12ef25dc44d4″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1787072460000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”13.01 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1787074861000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”13.41 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1787072735000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”13.05 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”13.05″,”title”:”Dr Lisa Gavin, forensic pathologist, testifies as expert analyst in Shakur’s autopsy”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 18 Aug 2026 18.52 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 18 Aug 2026 12.40 EDT”},{“id”:”6a848c638f08ca724d3b6b03″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The second day of the Tupac Shakur’s murder trial began with more audio from a years-old interview between Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who is accused of orchestrating Shakur’s shooting, and Fred Miller, a former Los Angeles police detective who had investigated Davis in connection with the 1997 murder of Christopher Wallace, the rapper known as Biggie Smalls or the Notorious BIG. Attorneys continued to play a lengthy audio recording of Miller questioning Davis in 1997.
“,”elementId”:”fa113a89-6596-4ca4-8ae9-c3c1cc2a54e8″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
As reported yesterday, Davis was present at a party that Wallace had attended before he was shot, but Davis’s attorney emphasized he was not charged in Wallace’s murder, and the judge told jurors that law enforcement did not believe Davis was involved.
“,”elementId”:”8ab8cfdf-6e3f-4a37-b09b-06a982138a6f”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1787071587000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”12.46 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1787074960000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”13.42 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1787072335000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”12.58 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”12.58″,”title”:”Trial starts with 1997 audio between man accused of planning Shakur’s murder and police detective”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 18 Aug 2026 18.52 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 18 Aug 2026 12.40 EDT”},{“id”:”6a8489f48f08b5e58fff18bd”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
We’ll be sharing live updates today from the second day of the Tupac Shakur murder trial in Las Vegas.
“,”elementId”:”949f6f1b-4854-46dd-a52f-7061eda1c6f1″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Nearly 30 years after the iconic artist’s killing, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, a former South Side Compton Crips gang leader, faces one count of murder with a deadly weapon in connection with the 1996 shooting. Prosecutors are alleging that Davis helped orchestrate the shooting, though he is not accused of being the gunman. Davis has pleaded not guilty.
“,”elementId”:”34ce2b2d-cf4a-418a-9041-0ce81ec50feb”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Here’s an overview of what we know about Tupac Shakur’s death and what to expect from this murder trial. And here are some key takeaways from yesterday’s opening arguments.
“,”elementId”:”f148c6ca-7e04-4eaa-bafa-000450ce2b4c”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1787071211000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”12.40 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1787072125000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”12.55 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1787071211000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”12.40 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”12.40″,”title”:”Day two begins of the Tupac Shakur murder trial in Las Vegas”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 18 Aug 2026 18.52 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 18 Aug 2026 12.40 EDT”}],”id”:”key-events-carousel-mobile”,”renderingTarget”:”Web”,”serverTime”:1787093952680}”>
Key events
McDonald confirmed once again that he had been subpoenaed and ordered to appear at the trial in Nevada.
“All that running and living a different life, I ain’t doing it. So I agreed to come,” McDonald said.
“Treat me as a hostile witness,” he repeated. “I’m not finna send him to prison. You are,” he told Davis’ lawyer.
“You’re asking me something that wouldn’t be good for him,” Davis said again.
A former associate of Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight, James McDonald, grew heated on the stand under cross-examination from defense attorney Michael Sanft, and told the court that he was worried that the attorney’s questions would hurt his own client, Duane “Keefe D” Davis, who is on trial for Tupac Shakur’s murder.
“Do I answer this?” McDonald exclaimed at one point, looking towards the judge.
“You asking something that’s going to hurt this dude,” McDonald then told Sanft, declining again to go into detail about the tensions in Compton in the weeks after the evening when Davis’ nephew Orlando Anderson was in a Las Vegas hotel, and Tupac Shakur was then shot.
“Let me stop,” McDonald went on, putting both hands behind his head and blowing out a breath.
“When we got back to Compton, it was a gang war. People were getting hurt,” McDonald went on. “People were getting hurt. People was being sought. People were looking for certain individulas from his neighborhood as well they did mine. But Orlando, him [gesturing to Davis] and certain other people were being soughted, because people wanted to kill them.”
“Sure. Were they the only ones that they wanted to kill?” Sanft asked.
“I’don’t even want to open this in here–No, they weren’t the only ones. It’s his neighborhood in particular. But they were the main subjects of a gang war. They was in the middle,” McDonald said.
“…they were involved in what?” Sanft
“In the murder of Tupac,” McDonald exclaimed. He then waved his arms in apparent frustration at Davis’ attorney’s questions.
“Talk to your lawyer, man, this dude is tripping,” McDonald said, refusing to clarify who exactly was present at Tupac’s shooting and then told people in Compton what had happened.
‘I don’t want to send you to prison,’ Suge Knight associate tells Duane Davis from stand
Asked again about the tension between Compton factions after Shakur’s shooting, this time by Michael Sanft, Duane Davis’ attorney, McDonald once again refused to go into detail.
“I don’t want to send him to prison, even though we don’t like each other,” McDonald said, apparently pointing to Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis, who is sitting in the courtroom directly behind his attorney. “I don’t want to send you to prison,” McDonald repeated.
A reaction shot of Davis on the courtroom livestream showed no reaction from a grim-faced Davis.
“I changed my life. I’m raising my grandkids, teaching them never to be like their Pawpaw, and here I am, explaining to people what I used to be, and I’m not proud of that, I’m not proud of that at all,” McDonald went on. “You’re asking me questions that can hurt him, and like I told them, I’m trying to avoid to answer the questions.”
James McDonald, the former associate of Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight, is now being cross-examined by a defense attorney for Duane “Keefe D” Davis.
McDonald, who said he was working as head of security for Knight’s Club 662 on the night Shakur was shot, is now answering questions about the size of the club and where the Las Vegas police were in relation to the club—posted outside, not inside, and not there at the request of Reggie Wright, then head of security for Death Row Records, McDonald said.
Asked how many people were on his payroll that night, McDonald said. “Y’all do paperwork differently from we did,” prompting another laugh from the courtroom. “Our paperwork was in cash money. Our paperwork was what they call under the table. We had at least 30, 40 of my homeboys there.” They were separate from the security people Reggie Wright Jr. hired, McDonald said. “My security did what they ain’t going to do…The police going to walk you out of there. We going to drag you out of there.”
McDonald confirmed he was not present when Shakur was shot. “People that went to the scene, and everybody said Tupac was talking, so everybody came back to the club saying he was going to be alright.”
‘This was between Suge Knight and Keefe D,’ Knight associate testifies
After Shakur’s shooting, in Compton neighborhoods, “It was tension in the air for quite a long time,” said James McDonald, a 61-year-old former associate of Death Row Records founder Suge Knight, who was injured in the shooting that killed Tupac Shakur. “Until I guess both sides said, and he might agree, just said let that shit go.”
“It wasn’t really our beef. This was between Suge Knight and Keefe D.”
Duane “Keefe D” Davis, who has been charged in Shakur’s murder, has been watching McDonald’s testimony closely from the courtroom, and frowning.
“People put theyselves in situations, like myself, I’m guilty as everybody else, like msyelf, I put myself in the situation to protect something and somebody who didn’t have nothing to do with me. I did it for a paycheck. I did it on some just because. I’m older now. I get it. But we did things for all the wrong reasons, at that time, in them days.”
Pivoting from McDonald’s refusal to answer questions about Orlando Anderson, chief deputy district attorney Binu Palal said he would not asked McDonald if it was true that Tupac Shakur “knocked you out one time.”
“I’d have killed him,” McDonald testified. “I’m being honest with you and everybody else. I said it on my podcast show. Him, Suge, and my brother, I’d have shot all three of them if he touched me. That’s how I was living. That’s what I was back then.”
“You don’t have a choice,” McDonald went on. “You would have to go back home and fight everybody that called you a punk.”
“When I was living that life, it wasn’t no if ands or buts, it wasn’t no ‘oh you get a pass,’ no, I would have shot him. To be honest,’” McDonald said.
‘You better treat me as a hostile witness,’ Suge Knight associate testifies
Minutes after testifying that it was “impossible” that Reggie Wright Jr was involved in the murder of Tupac Shakur, James McDonald, a former associate of Death Row Records executive Suge Knight, refused to go into detail about the beating of Orlando Anderson at the MGM Hotel, and how that beating fueled ongoing tensions between rival factions in Compton.
“Me or anybody else bringing up the dead is wrong,” McDonald said.
“I told every attorney that tried to get me in here, you’d better treat me as a hostile witness. And I think that’s where I’m about to know now, because you’re asking me questions–I can’t answer those questions.”
Right after Shakur’s shooting, McDonald said he immediaely left Las Vegas for California. “We knew we were going to have neighborhood issues,” he said. “It’s time to go and protect your home front. Like the other side was being prepared and was prepared to do things because Orlando got beat up in there ,and that’s something that you don’t tolerate.”
Asked why Orlando was targeted in Las Vegas, McDonald said: “I’m aware of a lot of things, things that was going on. People ain’t talked about it in 30 years. Today ain’t one of them. I don’t mean to be funny. But, here’s the things: a lot of things happened that night, a lot of things happened weeks and weeks after that night. Me or anybody else bringing up the dead is wrong. A lot of people got hurt behind this situation in itself.”
“Living the life in how we lived in Compton is one thing. You bring back all of the guys who made it, like me, I’m 61 years old now, to rehash and relive this situation.”
It’s worth noting that Orlando Anderson, the nephew of Duane “Keefe D” Davis, whose beating prosecutors say prompted Shakur’s killing, has been dead since 1998.
‘Impossible,’ that Reggie Wright Jr was involved in Tupac’s death, associate testifies
A prosecutor just asked James McDonald, a 61-year-old former associate of Death Row Records executive Suge Knight, if Reggie Wright Jr, the former head of security for Death Row Records, was involved in Shakur’s killing.
Reggie Wright Jr was with McDonald at club 662 when they found out about Shakur’s shooting the night of 7 September, McDonald said.
“Did it appear to you in any way that Reggie Wright Jr was coordinating the murder of Tupac Shakur?” chief deputy district attorney Binu Palal asked.
“Impossible,” McDonald said.
“And I say this because you’re aware there have been some conspiracy theories that Reggier Wright Jr. is responsible for the murder of Tupac,” Palal said.
“And it’s so not true,” McDonald said, emphasizing that he had known Wright for decades and known his father. “…If Reggie Killed Tupac, than Death Row is over with. Tupac was the money source. Tupac was that guy on Death Row. So, it’s–Reggie would have had a problem if he did that. And Suge, I truly believe, Suge would have opened his mouth if Reggie betrayed him like that. So, people say what they want to say.”
McDonald said he had been concerned on the night of 7 September about individuals creating problems at Club 662, and “with Crips, period.”
During McDonald’s testimony,
That night, Reggie Wright Jr., the security chief for Death Row Records, stayed at club 662 to “watch me” while others went to the Mike Tyson fight, McDonald testified.
“People was coming back and explaining that Tupac and Suge just got shot. Everyone was in an uproar.”
“Suge came back with a little bandage on his head…He was grazed, a little scar, nothing penetrating.”
That night, people thought Tupac was going to be okay, and they kept partying, McDonald said.
McDonald, the former associate of Death Row Records executive Suge Knight, asked “Are you serious? Don’t ask me that right here,” laughing, when a prosecutor asked him if the disputes he described ever led to violence. There was laughter in the courtroom.
On the night of 7 September 1996, Suge Knight and his entourage were in Las Vegas for a high-profile Mike Tyson boxing match, which McDonald referred to as “the fight.” McDonald’s job was “to make sure that nothing funny happened at [club] 662. We were the fall guys, if something happened, we was the ones who were going to go to jail for it, prepared to do it, so nobody else was going to come up there and disrupt it.”
“Neither side could have done anything” that night, McDonald recalled. “There was police all over the place” at Club 662 that night.
McDonald, an elderly man wearing glasses and a plaid flannel shirt, is describing gang life and gang disputes in the 1990s.
McDonald described Tupac Shakur as someone he knew because he was signed to Knight’s Death Row Records.
He said he thought Tupac “inherited the beef” between Suge Knight and others.
“Some of us fell victim to it. We allowed ourselves to become part of the BS, should I said. That was a situation between record companies, not gangs, technically it wasn’t our business. When you had 20 men just fresh out of prison, and didn’t have a way of getting things we wanted, getting a paybcheck from Suge, we did almost anything and everything to get that paycheck.”
McDonald also described the South Side Compton Crips as a rivals, and said “anytime you’re dealing with gang life, it’s going to be violent.”
The next witness is James McDonald, who was asked to confirm that he had been called to testify because of a court order and that he had not volunteered to testify.
On September 7, 1996, he said he was head of security at Club 662 in Las Vegas. He said he knew Suge Knight, the former Death Row Records music executive, from living in the same neighborhood in Compton.
Knight, who is currently incarcerated and has said in a recent media interview that he does not want to testify, was driving in the same car as Tupac Shakur when he was shot in Las Vegas. McDonald described his relationship with Knight as he himself “was the guy that, if something happened, Suge would have you take care of that.”
The jury has returned to the courtroom after a recess for lunch, and testimony is about to resume.
Following O’Kelley’s testimony, the court is now on lunch break, and will resume at 1:45pm Las Vegas time, judge Carli Kierney said.
Under cross-examination from Duane Davis’ defense attorney Michael Sanft, former Las Vegas police detective Dean O’Kelley’s has pivoted from discussing his experience of responding to the scene of the 1996 shooting to talking more broadly about his later work on cold case homicides.
Sanft appears to be trying to use O’Kelley’s testimony to raise questions among jury members about the challenges of solving cold case homicides, and about what kind of new evidence prosecutors ought to have in order to revisit a case like Shakur’s, which went unsolved for nearly three decades.
“A cold case is officially cold when the detectives who are originally assigned to it are no longer there, whether they transferred out of they retired,” O’Kelley testified. “If there’s not an original detective assigned to the case, it’s considered cold.”
A little past 11:30 pm, not quite 15 minutes after the shooting was reported, police got a initial update that they were looking for a light-color, possibly white, Cadillac with two Black male occupants related to the shooting, former police detective Dean O’Kelley testified.
Later, they were told that the Cadillac had four Black male occupants, O’Kelley said. About an hour after the shooting, no longer responsible for securing the crime scene, he and others went looking for the light-colored Cadillac.
Former police detective Dean O’Kelley testifies that the ammunition cartridges found at the scene of the shooting suggests that the weapon used was a Glock.
Former Las Vegas police detective Dean O’Kelley, who responded to the scene of the shooting, described crime scene analyst Dan Ford, who also responded to the scene, as investigator who had responded to “countless” homicides during their overlapping Las Vegas careers.
“Dan had indicated that these [ammunition] cartridge cases were checked for fingerprints at the time, with negative results,” O’Kelley testified.
On the night of 7 September 1996, around 11:17 pm, former Las Vegas police detective Dean O’Kelley testified, he was conducting enforcement activity with gang members near the shooting and heard over the radio a police officer reporting shots being fired and requesting a “code red,” requesting radio traffic to be kept for a minimum. “It’s a sacred things, and you don’t break the code red.”
He responded to the intersection of Koval and Flamingo, at what was then called the Maxim hotel, now the Westin. When he arrived, normal traffic had resumed and people were “still just driving by” on the road, since “whatever had happened was several minutes before.”
A supervisor wanted to know where the shooting had taken place.
“We were able to look out on the street there on Flamingo, just west of Koval. I saw in the headlights just little glints of light,” he said. He recognized the glints of brass from his time at the firing range, O’Kelley said. “We were able to determine where several cartridge cases were located on the street.”
As they located the cartridge cases in the roadway, they placed traffic cones they were carrying on top of or over the cartridge cases, to protect the crime scene from the traffic. By the time he got there, some of the cartridge cases had already been run over by cars, he testified.
They also found one bullet fragment, he said.
Discussion about this post