Tupac Murder Trial Opening Remarks

Judge (00:06):

We now have Mr. Davis. He's present in custody with Mr. Sanft. Anything we need to address outside the presence of the jury from either party?

Mr. Palal (00:13):

Nothing from the State.

Mr. Sanft (00:14):

Your Honor, I just want to make sure I have that issue with regard to the discovery commissioner. I just want to make sure, I think it's at 12:30.

Judge (00:22):

We had moved it for that, so we plan on stopping in time for you to get to that.

Mr. Sanft (00:27):

Thank you, Your Honor.

Judge (00:28):

Okay. And you were able to talk to Commissioner Ganz and get that all straightened out?

Mr. Sanft (00:31):

Not directly, but through my office, yes.

Judge (00:33):

Okay, excellent. Perfect.

Mr. Sanft (00:33):

Thank you.

Mr. Palal (00:34):

And I guess, Your Honor, I think it was mentioned during jury selection, but at this point, I think both parties would be invoking the exclusionary rule.

Judge (00:42):

Okay. So if we have anyone present in the courtroom who's on the witness list, you do need to step out at this time until you're allowed to come back in. Additionally, for everybody who's here in the audience, obviously we're in court, so I expect that there'll be no outbursts or speaking audibly that the jury can hear. Otherwise, we might have to remove you. Additionally, if you guys could all check and make sure that your cell phones are turned off or are at least on silent so that we don't have any distractions while we get going.

Mr. Sanft (01:09):

Your Honor, with regard to the exclusionary order, because of the fact that this is being broadcast, are we instructing as well witnesses to not be watching the broadcast prior to our testimony as well?

Judge (01:20):

Great point. Yes.

Mr. Sanft (01:20):

Okay.

Judge (01:20):

Anything further? All right. Let's bring in the jury.

Speaker 1 (01:20):

Did you get that [inaudible 00:03:48] for the judge after [inaudible 00:03:54]

Speaker 2 (01:20):

Stand for the jury.

Judge (01:20):

All right. You may... Do the parties stipulate to the presence of the jury?

Mr. Sanft (01:20):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge (05:10):

You may be seated. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back. Hopefully you were able to get everything situated over the long weekend, and we look forward to proceeding with trial. Before we get started, we do need to have you sworn. So if I could have you all stand and raise your right hand, we'll proceed with that.

Jessica (05:33):

You and each of you do solemnly swear that you will well and truly try the case at issue in a true verdict rendered according to the evidence, so help you God?

Jury (05:42):

Totally.

(05:42)
Yes.

Jessica (05:42):

Thank you. You may be seated.

Judge (05:47):

All right. Thank you, Jessica. And thank you, ladies and gentlemen. At this time, we're going to turn to opening statements. Mr. Palal, are you ready to give your opening statement at this time?

Mr. Palal (05:55):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge (05:56):

You may proceed whenever you're ready.

Mr. Palal (05:57):

Thank you. Good morning.

Jury (06:03):

Morning.

(06:03)
Morning.

Mr. Palal (06:06):

On September 7th, 1996, Tupac Shakur came to Las Vegas to attend a Mike Tyson fight. After the fight, Tupac, along with Suge Knight, Trevon Lane, and other people that were with that group, ran into a person named Orlando Anderson. And Orlando Anderson is the defendant's nephew. And when they encountered Orlando Anderson sitting by himself, they attacked him. That attack was captured on video.

(06:50)
Then a few hours later, Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight drive down Flamingo Road to Club 662 where Tupac is scheduled to perform at a concert. Then two and a half hours later, after Tupac and Suge engaged in the beating of Orlando Anderson, Tupac is gunned down in a drive-by shooting from a white Cadillac in an act of revenge. During those two and a half hours, you will learn that the defendant was escalating and planning the retribution for the beating of his beloved nephew. Now, let's be clear. Duane Davis did not pull the trigger, but what he did do was plan the retaliation for the beating of his nephew. You will learn that Duane Davis got the gun. You will learn that he got into a white Cadillac. You will learn when the opportunity presented itself for retribution, Duane Davis made sure that the shooters were armed and ready to execute their revenge. And remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself.

(08:19)
But to understand what happened on September 7th, 1996 on the streets of Las Vegas, we need to go about 275 miles west to the city of Compton, California. What you'll learn is that Compton is about 10 square miles, but in the mid 1990s, those 10 square miles were occupied by over 30 gangs claiming its territory. And important to this case, there are two gangs, Mob Piru and the South Side Compton Crips. Let's talk a little bit about the Mob Piru. The Mob Piru's a group that associated with the color of red. And you'll hear that Suge Knight, the person who was driving Tupac Shakur that night, grew up in the neighborhood of Mob Piru. But by the mid 1990s, he had become a very successful CEO of the record label Death Row Records. But despite or maybe because of where he came from, you'll hear that Suge Knight continued to employ Mob Piru gang members as part of Death Row. They would act as unofficial security. And other times they would engage in, let's call them other acts on behalf of Suge Knight.

(09:46)
But Death Row in the mid 1990... labels around. They're artists such as Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and of course, Tupac Shakur. And in 1996, Tupac Shakur was maybe the largest and biggest, most successful rapper around. He had just completed, he had just sold, released All Eyez on Me, a double album that was met with huge success. Additionally, Tupac Shakur was a movie star, having appeared in a number of movies in critically acclaimed roles. He has at times been referred to as an icon, but for the purposes of this case, what you need to know is that Tupac Shakur was not a gangster. He was a hip-hop artist associated with the Mob Piru.

(10:42)
Now, the other gang that's important to know here is the South Side Compton Crips. And when it comes to South Side, Duane Keffe D Davis was the leader of the Burris Street faction of the South Side Compton Crips. And while Suge Knight rose to prominence in his neighborhood... Duane Davis rose to prominence in his neighborhood because he was a very successful, large scale drug trafficker. And... Moves up in the world of gangs by bringing in money to the neighborhood. The other thing you'll learn is that Orlando Baby Lane Anderson was his nephew and also a highly respected member of the South Side Compton Crips.

(11:39)
Now, as part of this case, you're going to hear another name. Eric Zip Martin. Now, Eric Zip Martin is not a member of the South Side Compton Crips. In fact, he's based out of New York. He's involved in the drug trade and knows Duane Davis as a result of both their involvements in the drug trade. Duane Davis from the West Coast, Eric Zip Martin from the East Coast. And one of the connections that Duane Davis gets through his association with Zip Martin is with Sean Puffy Combs, who was then the CEO of Bad Boy Entertainment. Sean Combs wanted some security when he came out to the West Coast. He was worried about Mob Piru. He was worried about the members of Death Row Records. And so Duane Keffe D Davis agreed to be around to act as unofficial security for Sean Combs and his artists when they came out West... typically to ensure there are no problems with Mob Piru and Death Row records.

(12:50)
And this took a rivalry between Mob Piru and South Side Compton Crips and escalated it. And those tensions boiled over in the Lakewood Mall in the summer of 1996. There, you'll hear that Trevon Lane, a member of the Mob Piru Ru associated with Death Row records, was there with other members of Mab Piru in order to do some shopping. Lakewood Mall was a mall nearby Compton. You'll also hear that Baby Lane Anderson, Orlando Anderson, the defendant's nephew was there. Now, Trevon Lane that day was wearing a chain with a Death Row medallion. And there was a fight that occurs between the Mob Piru group and the South Side Compton Crips. And at one point that chain is pulled off Trevon Lane's neck. Now, what happened to that chain is an issue of much dispute. Not everybody agrees with it, but the act of disrespect of pulling the Death Row chain and the brawl that occurs further escalates this heated rivalry. And what you'll learn is that these two men, Trevon Lane and Orlando Baby Lane Anderson, they encounter each other again, this time in Las Vegas.

(14:17)
So that brings us back up to September 7th, 1996 here in Las Vegas. Again, Mike Tyson is fighting Bruce Seldon. He disposes of him in less than a round, in a round. Doesn't take a full round. And then after the fight, Tupac Shakur, Suge Knight and the people that are here with, they leave. And among his group is Trevon Lane. And that is why this fight occurs. Trevon Lane and the Death Row group sees Orlando Anderson standing by himself and they decide to attack him in retribution for what happened at the Lakewood Mall. You'll see Orlando Anderson is on the bottom of that group. You see security coming, trying to break this up. And then you'll see Tupac Shakur, Suge Knight, Trevon Lane, and that group exit the MGM Grand. Now Orlando Anderson was by himself because when Duane Davis purchased the tickets for the Bruce Seldon fight, he got it through a scalper. So everybody that came with Duane Davis were seated separately throughout the fight. And so Orlando Anderson was at that time by himself. You'll see that Mr. Shakur, Mr. Knight, and his group leave the MGM Grand and you'll see that Orlando Anderson, after being held by security, is questioned for a bit, asked if he wants to press charges. He decides he doesn't want to participate in any type of prosecution and that he doesn't need medical attention.

(16:09)
Duane Davis hears about this beating. And what you will hear is that in his world, there is no question that a response is required. And you will hear from Duane Davis what happens next. Because what happened over the next two and a half hours is something Duane Davis would later describe himself in a secret 2008 interview from his attorney's office with the federal task force. And we'll talk about that interview and the circumstances surrounding that later, but we'll hear about what the next two and a half hours was.

(16:49)
So what we learn is that Duane Davis is upset about the beating of his nephew. And frankly, no, that's not an unusual response. What's unusual is the next steps Duane Davis takes. Unusual for the normal person, maybe not unusual for in gang culture... is going to organize a retaliation that this beating cannot go unanswered. Then he runs into a person named Zip Martin. Remember the Zip Martin? That was the connection with Bad Boy Entertainment from New York. And Zip Martin tells him that he has...

Audio: Duane Davis (17:30):

I don't know.

Audio: Speaker 9 (17:30):

Okay, where do you go to? What do you tell Zip right then?

Audio: Duane Davis (17:37):

[inaudible 00:17:39].

Audio: Speaker 9 (17:39):

You tell Zip, "Hey, we're going to go handle this shit," or whatever?

Audio: Duane Davis (17:47):

Yeah, I wanted [inaudible 00:17:44] they going to get [inaudible 00:17:49].

Audio: Speaker 9 (17:48):

Who was they?

Audio: Duane Davis (17:49):

Everybody.

Audio: Speaker 9 (17:49):

Everybody?

Audio: Duane Davis (17:49):

Yeah, everybody [inaudible 00:17:55].

Audio: Speaker 9 (17:49):

How do you know that Zip had a gun? Did she tell you-

Audio: Duane Davis (17:49):

No, it was in the lobby when I met him in the lobby [inaudible 00:18:03]

Audio: Speaker 9 (17:49):

So did you ask him, "Do you have one?" Or is it he told you, "Yeah, I got one."?

Audio: Duane Davis (17:49):

Yeah, [inaudible 00:18:09] Yeah, okay, cool.

Audio: Speaker 9 (17:49):

[inaudible 00:18:13].

Audio: Duane Davis (17:49):

Yeah.

Mr. Palal (18:18):

So later, Duane Davis organizes two vehicles to go over to the 662 Club. Before that, he gets the gun from Zip Martin. He goes out to his Mercedes-Benz, gets the gun from Zip Martin. And then after some time, he assembles two cars to go to 662 to violently confront Tupac... And you'll hear that Duane Davis... and Orlando Baby Lane Anderson, they go in a white Cadillac and they go to Club 662, waiting for Tupac Shakur, waiting for Suge Knight, waiting for this violent confrontation. And what you'll learn is that Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight don't show up while they're there.

Audio: Duane Davis (19:09):

We went up to the 626 Club. They didn't show up. We waited about 15, 20 minutes. They didn't show up. So like, "Let's go get some liquor." We stopped at the liquor store. [inaudible 00:19:23] jump in the Cadillac.

Mr. Palal (19:25):

So what you hear Duane Davis say is he got... the Cadillac. And the plan at that point is to go to a liquor store, get some booze, and then go back to the Las Vegas Strip and party. What the original intention was before Orlando Anderson was beaten at the MGM Grand. But on the way back to the Las Vegas Strip, they see a caravan of cars. And that caravan included Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight. And in that white Cadillac before the shooting, before the shooting occurs, Duane Davis explains that the driver is Terrence T-Brown. In the rear driver's side is Deandre Dre or Big Dre Smith. In the rear passenger side is Orlando Baby Lane Anderson. Duane Davis himself, Keffe D, is in the front passenger side. And this is how Duane Davis explains the murder of Tupac Shakur.

Audio: Duane Davis (20:46):

Yeah. [inaudible 00:20:42] right there, then we came up on Harlem at the Long Bay Boulevard and shit... "Tupac, Tupac." I was like, "Dang, bro." And [inaudible 00:20:59] U-turn they was in the middle lane and we just we just pulled up on the side and checked every car to see where they was.

Audio: Speaker 9 (21:07):

So what direction...

Audio: Duane Davis (21:13):

"Tupac." He gave himself away. [inaudible 00:21:15] got them.

Audio: Speaker 9 (21:23):

You did a U-turn, so then you pulled alongside of it. [inaudible 00:21:28] car. Had you already handed him a gun at this point or at what point had you handed him the gun?

Audio: Duane Davis (21:28):

I thought he was going to pull on my side [inaudible 00:21:40] and pulled I upon his side.

Audio: Speaker 9 (21:43):

So you were fitting to blast if you had to, or you were just-

Audio: Duane Davis (21:46):

Yeah, if he would've been on our side, I would've.

Audio: Speaker 9 (21:50):

Okay. So you hand the gun to the back seat?

Audio: Duane Davis (21:51):

Yeah.

Audio: Speaker 9 (21:51):

[inaudible 00:21:52]

Audio: Duane Davis (21:51):

I gave it to Dre and Dre's like, "No, no, no." And...

Mr. Palal (22:04):

... admit that as they see Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight driving to Club 662, Duane Davis, along with Terrence Brown, Deandre Smith, and Orlando Anderson, decide to make a U-turn, confront Tupac Shakur, and Suge Knight. Duane Davis had the firearm. It's a firearm he got from Eric Von Zip Martin. And then he passes it to the back. Duane Davis says that if they were on his side, if Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight were on his side of the vehicle, he would've shot them himself. But because they were on the other side, he handed... Deandre Smith, according to Duane Davis, did not want to shoot at that time. So Orlando Anderson shot into that car... explains this over and over again.

Audio: Duane Davis (22:58):

... all up the street.

Audio: Speaker 9 (23:01):

Okay, Dre starts blasting. You say Suge looked over, he sees you?

Audio: Duane Davis (23:07):

Yeah.

Audio: Speaker 9 (23:09):

He looks right at you?

Audio: Duane Davis (23:20):

Yeah, he looked at me.

Audio: Speaker 9 (23:20):

[inaudible 00:23:21].

Audio: Duane Davis (23:20):

[inaudible 00:23:21] that son of a bitch [inaudible 00:23:21].

Audio: Speaker 9 (23:21):

So when he looks over at you and then Tupac's busy getting shot. Evidently, the story is Tupac's trying to either get out-

Audio: Duane Davis (23:28):

In the back seat or something.

Audio: Speaker 9 (23:30):

Yeah, what do you see happening his side there?

Audio: Duane Davis (23:30):

I see him [inaudible 00:23:35] I thought he was dead. Though he was dead [inaudible 00:23:40] something.

Audio: Speaker 9 (23:42):

A piece of glass went into his neck right here. [inaudible 00:23:45]

Audio: Duane Davis (23:44):

And [inaudible 00:23:48] I thought he was dead.

Audio: Speaker 9 (23:50):

Okay. So I'm sorry, did you guys stops, did [inaudible 00:23:55] stop the car, did anyone get out?

Audio: Duane Davis (23:50):

Yeah and [inaudible 00:23:59]

Audio: Speaker 9 (23:58):

Okay, but he stopped is what said, right?

Audio: Duane Davis (23:58):

[inaudible 00:23:59] and some broads [inaudible 00:23:59] phones. Stupid bitches [inaudible 00:23:59] they stopped.

Audio: Speaker 9 (23:58):

So Tupac's trying to jump in the back seat.

Audio: Duane Davis (23:58):

[inaudible 00:23:59] he was too big. And then...

Mr. Palal (24:25):

One other thing Duane Davis talks about during the murder of Tupac Shakur is that there is a car full of women. I think he calls them broads at one point. A car full of women who are there as well... And what she's going to tell you is that she disagrees slightly with Mr. Davis's rendition of facts. They were in fact communicating with Suge at Tupac's... And what she says is she will... what Duane Davis interprets as them chasing her. She'll tell you is them just panicking and trying to get away. But she will say they inadvertently follow Duane Davis and the other people in the white car as they are fleeing.

(25:18)
After Suge Knight and Tupac Shakur's vehicle is shot, Suge Knight makes a U-turn and heads back to the Las Vegas Strip. The car ultimately can go no further and stops. Police arrive, medical arrive. And you will hear that Suge Knight was grazed in the head and had some glass going in his neck. He ultimately survives those injuries and is released fairly quickly. You'll also hear that Tupac Shakur was shot multiple times, that he was brought to UMC, and that six days later he succumbed to those injuries. And within 24 hours... are back in Compton. They stay the night and they drive right home as though nothing happened. But a war followed them back to Compton. Because while people were afraid to come forward to police, the police knew and the streets knew that South Side Compton Crips were responsible for this murder. And the war that follows at Compton is a bloody one. You'll hear that Mob Piru and South Side Crip members start shooting at each other. Within 10 days, 3 people are killed. A number of people are shot, including an 11-year-old girl. And what you'll also learn is that none of those cases were prosecuted. Why? Because in this context, in the gang context of this, the combination of gangs and guns is scary. And in this world, silence means survival. The one person who has a hard time being silent is Duane Davis. You're going to hear from 1998 to 2023, Duane Davis has given a number of statements regarding this case. So as early as 1998, Davis spoke to the FBI. He admitted he was in Las Vegas during Tupac's murder, but he denies being responsible. Then in 1990, Davis speaks to the FBI again, and these aren't interviews that are focused on the Tupac Shakur murder. These are interviews regarding drug transactions and drug trafficking, but he does say that Tupac does come up and Duane Davis admits to being in Las Vegas for Tupac Shakur's murder. Says he wasn't involved, but he was mad about the fact that Orlando Anderson was beaten and that his plan was to handle it in Compton had Tupac survived. Then in 2008, the interview of clips we've heard today in a secret interview with the federal task force, Davis admits to his role in the murder of Tupac Shakur.

(28:37)
And we do need to talk a little bit about this 2008 federal task force because what this task force is investigating is not the murder of Tupac Shakur. What this task force is investigating is another rapper's murder. A rapper by the name of Christopher Wallace, somebody who is known as Biggie Smalls, so The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher Wallace got murdered six months after Tupac Shakur was killed. And there was some allegation that the LAPD might have been involved. So a federal task force was formed to determine what happened to Christopher Wallace. And the interesting thing about the murder of Christopher Wallace is that Christopher Wallace is killed leaving a party in LA. Also at that party, Duane Davis. Christopher Wallace, there was a suspect vehicle that involved a... and Duane Davis happened to own a Chevy SS Impala. Now as a result of that, the task force decides, "Well, let's look at Duane Davis. And the thing we know about Duane Davis is that he trafficked narcotics."

(29:49)
And so they were able through a CI and an undercover to have a drug transaction with Duane Davis. And as a result, Duane Davis now has a case, a big trafficking case. And so the federal task force approaches Duane Davis and his attorney and they say, "Hey look, we want information regarding the murder of Christopher Wallace. That is what we are trying to investigate." And what Duane Davis says is, "I don't have any information about that. But I can tell you... know about Tupac." And that's what he does. He tells a federal task force about his involvement, what you've heard, his orchestration of the murder of Tupac Shakur.

(30:38)
That secret conversation, that proffer was secretly recorded and released later. In 2009, Davis is being so helpful to federal authorities that he actually flies out to New York to try and get Zip Martin to implicate himself in the Tupac Shakur murder. Zip Martin at that time was dying of cancer, was out of the game and really did not engage with Duane Davis. In 2009 though, Duane Davis gives an interview to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Detective Dan Long. Now, Duane Davis is more guarded in that interview. It is a different setting than the interview of 2008. It's not a secret proffer agreement. But Duane Davis does admit a number of things: that he was in Las Vegas, that he was mad about Orlando Anderson getting beaten, that he was the boss, that he was in the white Cadillac, and that he procured the firearm that ultimately killed Tupac Shakur.

(31:51)
Then in 2011, the landscape changes because in 2011, Greg Kading, the guy who was leading the task force in 2008, the guy who organized the secret proffer between Duane Davis and the federal task force, he leaves law enforcement and decides he's going to publish a book about his investigation into Biggie Smalls, the guy who was killed six months after Tupac, and Tupac Shakur. And what he puts in the book is that Duane Davis confessed to the murder of Tupac Shakur. The book tells the story about his admission about himself, but it also tells the story of Duane Davis telling about his nephew's involvement in the murder, about Big Dre's involvement in the murder, about Terrance Brown's involvement in the murder. And this is a problem for Duane Davis because that meeting was supposed to be secret. And now his cooperation with federal authorities is open to the world. Not only that, Greg Kading is now profiting off-

Mr. Palal (33:00):

... that Greg Kading is now profiting off Duane Davis's life story. So in 2017, Duane Davis decides to go public. He's approached by the producers of a show called Death Row Chronicles that appears on BET. And this is just a small portion of what he says is his motivation for appearing.

Video: Duane Davis (33:41):

[inaudible 00:33:31] People have been pursuing me for 20 years. Newspapers, magazines. I'm coming out now to tell the story because I got cancer. I got nothing else to lose. All I'm here about now is the truth.

Mr. Palal (33:55):

Duane Davis says, "All I want to do now is tell the truth."

(33:57)
And in the 2017 public interview, he's a little evasive, but he admits to being the boss. He admits to being in the white Cadillac. And he admits to be part of the murder of Tupac Shakur. And when he says he's the only person that can tell what happened, he's right. Because by 2017, Terrence Brown is deceased. Deandrae Smith is deceased. Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson is deceased. Terrence Brown was murdered in unrelated incidents. Orlando Anderson was murdered in an unrelated incident. And Deandrae Smith died from [inaudible 00:34:44].

(34:46)
Remarkably, in 2019, Duane Davis then decides he's going to publish his own book. And with regards to the book, it is certainly a lot of self- aggrandizement. But again, the core remains. He was mad about the beating of Orlando Anderson, his nephew. He was in Las Vegas. He got the gun. He was in the white Cadillac and he handed the gun to the shootings.

(35:20)
And what you'll notice is a constant thing that always goes through his statements, is Duane Davis's visceral anger at Tupac Shakur for putting hands on his nephew. In the book, he says, "Them jumping on my nephew gave us the ultimate green light to do something to their ass." Then Duane Davis decides that he's going to do public interviews regarding his role in the murder of Tupac Shakur.

Video: Speaker 1 (35:53):

So you ended up getting in the car with Peggy Lane and him?

Video: Duane Davis (35:55):

I got in the car with him, yeah. [inaudible 00:35:59] we put the light on Sunset and Bingo and a dude acting like he was in a parade or something, he was in a BMW hanging out going, "Hey, it's Tupac. It's Tupac." And them bitches are... Shit. They was hollering for him. [inaudible 00:36:22] motherfucker came up on the side of him and shit...

Mr. Palal (36:30):

Davis's public admissions mirror his private ones. He admits to being a leader of South Side Crips. He admits the significance of the fight over the Death Row chain at the Lakewood Mall. He admits to being in Las Vegas the night of the fight. He admits to being angry that Tupac stomped Orlando Anderson at the MGM.

(36:47)
He admits that he was hunting down Tupac and Suge, first going to 662. He admits that he got a Glock 40 from Eric "Zip" Martin for the purposes of hunting Tupac.

(36:56)
He admits that he was in a white Cadillac with his gang members looking for Tupac. He admits to seeing Tupac in a black BMW and then changing directions, making that U-turn to confront Tupac and Suge. He admits to putting the gun he obtained that night in the backseat of the vehicle so the shooters could shoot.

(37:17)
And again, what remains? Even as late as 2020, 2021, '22 is Duane Davis's visceral anger at Tupac.

Video: Duane Davis (37:24):

[inaudible 00:37:37]. Tupac was wrong with [inaudible 00:37:46]. I mean, don't give me a wrong argument.

Video: Speaker 4 (37:24):

I mean, yeah, I think he could have reacted in a better way.

Video: Duane Davis (37:24):

You don't think that is wrong?

Video: Speaker 4 (37:24):

He could have reacted in a better way, I guess.

Video: Duane Davis (37:24):

I'll tell him, glad [inaudible 00:38:04] he admitted that that man is wrong, man.

Video: Speaker 4 (37:24):

I mean, [inaudible 00:38:11] he was wrong man, but that was only done out of [inaudible 00:38:12].

Video: Duane Davis (37:24):

Okay. Thank you. I appreciate that. My nephew didn't jump on him. He jumped on my nephew, it was a kid, man. My nephew was a fucking kid. That was a grown ass man, dude. You know what I'm saying? He was a fucking kid, and that's why he handled it [inaudible 00:38:32]. He's a fucking kid, dude. You know what I'm saying? He was wrong. My nephew never jumped over him. He jumped on my nephew.

(37:24)
My nephew's taking no punch, man. He chose the wrong, dude. Jumped on a fucking kid, dude.

Mr. Palal (38:50):

And this anger is not just demonstrated publicly, but you will hear as recently as 2024 privately in a conversation with his son, he talks about his feelings about Tupac Shakur nearly 30 years after the murder.

Video: Duane Davis (39:11):

I was born born way before that, dude. I was way out there before him, dude. I know Eazy E. And Dr. Dre and them, put them on motherfucker, on me, that little faggot, you know what I'm saying?

Video: Speaker 4 (39:30):

[inaudible 00:39:31].

Video: Duane Davis (39:30):

Put in fucking prison and get fucked in the ass. Fucking icon. And all that raping little girls, jumping on a little kid in the fucking hallway of the fucking casino, that dude is a piece of shit, you know.

Video: Speaker 4 (39:31):

Yeah, brother. They taking that shit way [inaudible 00:39:43]. Talking about he a icon [inaudible 00:39:49].

Video: Duane Davis (39:31):

Icon, icon my ass, I don't want none of my kids like that mother fucking faggot.

Mr. Palal (39:57):

28 years later, that is the visceral anger that Duane Davis had for Tupac Shakur. In two and a half hours, he took care of what he though was the proper response. And 28 years later, he still is angry about what Tupac did.

(40:21)
On September 7th, 1996, Tupac Shakur publicly on camera participated in a humiliating beating of Duane Davis's nephew, Orlando Anderson. Duane Davis knew that in his world, that required a response. And over the years in private interviews and public statements and even in private calls, Duane Davis has repeatedly told us over and over again about the anger he felt, and his own role in the revenge drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur.

(40:53)
And now, nearly 30 years later, we're going to ask you to finally hold Duane Davis accountable. Thank you.

Judge Carli Kierny (41:08):

Thank you, Mr. Palal. Mr. Sams, do you wish to give your opening statement at this time?

Mr. Sams (41:12):

Yes, Your Honor. I'd like to set the secondary-

Judge Carli Kierny (41:14):

Of course. Whenever you're ready.

Mr. Sams (41:15):

I think this is the internal cable.

Judge Carli Kierny (41:27):

You got it or do you want IT to assist you?

Mr. Sams (41:31):

I think I got it. This is it, right?

Judge Carli Kierny (42:01):

Okay.

(42:01)
Whenever you're ready.

Mr. Sams (42:01):

Thank you, Your Honor. Good morning. We spent a lot of time, I think, when we were picking a jury to determine who would be the right jurors for a case like this. Obviously we want people who are going to reserve judgment until the end, but really look at the evidence with a critical eye.

(42:24)
Now what the state has just told you what they believe to be the evidence in this case. But really at the end of the day, you have to ask yourself if what they're saying is really truth or fiction. Fact or fiction.

(42:38)
I don't know if some of you recall, but I had asked the question specifically about what you were holding in your hands. And right now, of course, since you're all holding notepads and pens, that would be a fact, right? And in this case, for instance, I had asked before about the idea of... I can just do this, right?

(42:59)
Microphone. I'd asked some of you if that microphone was buried and dug up 30 years from now, would it still be a microphone? The answer is yes. And the reason why that's important is because in this case, what they are telling you, they're representing it to be a fact when it really is fiction.

(43:18)
And it's up to you to determine what the facts are in this case. Now I'm going to give you a timeline here for you to understand just a little bit of how this is going to work because there's so much evidence in this case that we have to sort of compartmentalize some things. And what I've done is really just sort of focused on the three detectives that work this file from beginning to now.

(43:40)
First detective you will hear about is Detective Becker. He works the file, he's the original detective on the scene.

(43:46)
Detective Long takes over the case for about 15 years or so, and then it ends with Detective Mogg who presents this to the grand jury in 2023. But why this timeline is relevant? You have to see the span of time for yourself. 30 years. And ask yourself this: what facts do they have after 30 years?

(44:10)
Now, Detective Becker does what every homicide detective does when he arrives on scene. He's assigned to the case. He starts his investigation. At that particular time though, Tupac Shakur was not dead. He was critically injured. He was at UMC. And it isn't until six days later that he passes away. But Detective Becker starts his initial investigation because it's pretty serious. And as a result, he just takes over the investigation. What he will testify to is that Flamingo and Koval on a Saturday night in the middle of a fight between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon, it was very busy when he arrived.

(44:50)
And he arrived at a time where he was able to determine cartridge cases, 40-caliber that was found at the scene. That's another fact for you. At some point they got to learn, he learns that potentially it was a Glock 40 that was the actual firearm that was used in this case.

(45:08)
And then when crime scene analysts arrive on scene, they document the evidence and they document the cars. That will be important, and you'll determine at some point why the cars are documented. And with regard to Detective Becker, what he'll tell you is police officers write reports. Critical. Hugely important. Why? Because at some point in the future, like in this case 30 years later, Detective Becker will not remember details like he would if he had, what? His report in front of him. And that's going to be important for you to consider in this case.

(45:43)
Now what Detective Becker does though is because of the outcry, the attention, the media focus on this case, he took his file and he secured it in his office under lock and key because he was worried about leaks in Metro, leaking information out to the public because so many people wanted to know answers to the question as to what happened and who did this to Tupac Shakur.

(46:12)
Now what you're going to find is, when Detective Becker testifies in this case, is that a lot of his reports are now missing. They're gone. Which is Metro's responsibility to hold and to pass on to the next detective and then finally to the next detective.

(46:29)
Now, Detective Becker also did not trust Compton PD. Why is that important in this case? Because there's an individual by the name of Reggie Wright Sr. He was a lieutenant working in Compton, in charge of the gangs in Compton in terms of investigations. His son is Reggie Wright Jr. He was the Head of Security for Death Row Records. The same security that was here in Las Vegas on the 9th of September 7th, 1996. Death Row Records was affiliated with Mob Piru Blood and Detectives Ladd and Brennan from Compton answered directly to Reggie Wright Sr. Becker did not trust Compton PD.

(47:17)
And the one thing that he really didn't trust is that most of their information came from confidential informants that were not reliable. And he'll tell you that. And because of his intuition, Compton PD was shut down in September of 2000 due to internal corruption. They just evaporated that police department and the sheriff's department for LA County absorbed the responsibilities for the police department in Compton because of the corruption that was there.

(47:50)
Now what facts, right? Just like the pads of paper that you have in your hand and the pens that you have in your hand, what facts can we determine from Detective Becker's efforts? First and foremost, we know that Tupac was shot multiple times. That's a fact. That can be proven. We know that it was with a 40-caliber firearm. That's a fact due to the cartridge casings. On the corner of Flamingo and Koval, that's also a fact, right?

(48:18)
We're on board so far? We know the date, September 7th, 1996. That is a fact. At 11:17 PM, we know that to be a fact as well. And then finally that he was in a vehicle during [inaudible 00:48:34] at night and that Tupac died six days later.

(48:37)
Those are facts that will not be refuted by anybody in this courtroom during the time that we spend together. But here's the one thing. There are no facts to point to Keefe, not one. And you're going to hear about this over and over and over again.

(48:56)
No facts, like the microphone in your hand or the pad of paper that you have that you write on. Detective Long takes over the case in 2002 and he has it from 2002 to 2017. He was, interestingly enough, on the gang unit and at the time of the shooting, he was in gangs and he had been one of the first to arrive on scene.

(49:17)
He will testify and tell you that every time he did something on this file, he wrote a report because that's important. That's what we do as a police officer. And he conducted follow-up interviews and he made some travel to Compton.

(49:32)
He will tell you those things. That's his role in all of this. But here's the thing. Detective Long also encountered some challenges in this case. They had to hide the case file with Metro because people were still accessing the file in Metro and they weren't authorized to do so.

(49:51)
So they changed the case number so that people couldn't find the file. In addition to that, what you're going to learn is LAPD reached out to him, called them up and said, "Hey, Detective Long, we have the gun and we've tested it and it matches back to what you're looking for in terms of the weapon that killed Tupac Shakur." Detective Long goes to LAPD, gets the gun, transports it back, gets tested, and it comes out as not a match to a big gun, to test you out.

(50:23)
This is the level of, I don't know how to put it, that was going on during this time period between Metro, LAPD and Compton. This is what's happening during this time period. Leads, according to Detective Long, became very scarce and stale, meaning that it was just taking a long time for him to follow up with people. Witnesses became unavailable. Why do you think that is?

(50:48)
Because of time. So as a result, memories started failing because of that time. So Detective Long had these challenges. But here's what Detective Long does. He interviews Keefe in 2009. Sits him down, has an interview with Keefe, just like the state said. And guess what happens? Detective Long doesn't even know that Keefe had actually spoken to a task force the year before. How is that possible? Metro is the agency responsible for the investigation to Tupac Shakur's murder and they don't even know about this.

(51:27)
No one in that room in 2008 told Detective Long or Metro what was going on. And you know who was in the room in 2008? You had FBI in the room. You had DEA in the room. You had LAPD in the room. You had the United States Attorney for the Central District of California in that room.

(51:54)
And Detective Long does not know about any of that. What you also learned is, out of all those people in that room, not one person verifies what Keefe D tells them. That the FBI, the gold standard of investigation in our country, did not go out and follow up on what was said.

(52:16)
Now one of the things the state showed you was a picture of a car and indicated there was four individuals in that car. And he'd tell you that at some point three of those individuals are dead and Keefe's the only one that's remaining.

(52:32)
But at the time that he gives his statement to the task force in 2008, there's another individual that's still alive. They never interviewed that individual to verify if that information was true. Why not? Because the FBI just fell asleep, that the LAPD just didn't care.

(52:55)
Keefe was never charged for any of what he said during that time period. And it's because they knew he was full of crap, otherwise they would've. Why wouldn't they? When Detective Long comes back to Las Vegas, he goes and he talks it over with the Clark County District Attorney's Office. And you know what happened then? They didn't charge the case either in 2009. Ask yourself the reason why that is. It's because they just didn't care about Tupac Shakur or his life, or it's because they looked into it and realized, we can't verify this information. We don't believe this to be true. Why would the Clark County District Attorney's Office not charge it in 2009? Now what facts do we get out of Detective Long based upon what he did for those 15 years?

(53:58)
We don't have any facts. Outside of statements made allegedly by Keefe D and other people, we don't have anything to verify any of that information. Not one single thing to corroborate the statements made by that man in 2008 or 2009. Not only by Metro, but by the FBI, by LAPD, by the DEA, by the United States Attorney's Office. No one corroborates any of this. So 2017 comes along and an entity called the Center of Investigative Reporting, they file what's called a FOIA request with Metro. And what that means is, FOIA is the Freedom Information Act that allows or requires government agencies to give up information if you ask for it.

(54:51)
That's the goal, it's to be transparent. And people wanted to know what was going on with the murder files. This is 2017. This is years after any of the statements that were made and anything else.

(55:04)
Where's the investigation? What's going on? Well, Metro said, "No, we're not going to give it to you." So in 2018, the Senate turns around and files a lawsuit against Metro to force them to give them the file, to show them what work had you been doing over at that particular point, I don't know, what's that? 20 years?

(55:29)
That's when Detective Mogg enters the picture. What you will learn is that Detective Mogg basically says, "I'm here just to close out the case." He's not here to solve the mystery of who killed Tupac. So with everything you have in front of you that you're now hearing for the first time in terms of the statements that were made in 2008, 1998, 1990, whatever, Detective Mogg moves on and says, "I'm just here to close out the case." That's his role. And what you're going to learn is Detective Mogg received a copy of what's called the Death Row Chronicles in 2018.

(56:05)
It's not a deposition. It's not a testimony under oath. It's edited and it's done for [inaudible 00:56:12] purposes. He receives a copy of it. You know what happens when he receives that copy... Showing you in this case? No charges filed. Why?

(56:25)
Well, Keefe writes a book, allegedly. Allegedly he writes this book called Compton Street Legend in 2019. You know what happened with the book, right? Even he confesses to it. What you find is no charges filed. What is going on? District attorney's office doesn't want to charge the case. No charges filed.

(56:51)
When the interview happens, no charges are filed when the book is written. What is going on? Five years goes by and nothing is going on with the case. But Detective Mogg says he's closing it out. Detective Mogg turns around and applies for what's called a search warrant.

(57:09)
Now what a search warrant is, is that in July of 2023, around that time period, a search warrant requires a police officer to get permission from a judge to basically violate the sanctity and privacy of your home, right? There's got to be legal reasons for it. He's got to go through that process and he's got to ask permission from a judge in order for him to get that. And what he does in that search warrant application is he assures the judge, "Hey, what we are looking for is in the home. The thing that's going to help us solve this crime, who killed Tupac, is in the home." And he signs an affidavit, and that's important. I want you to remember this. He signs an affidavit attesting to what he's saying to this judge to be true and correct. What he says is, "I think we have evidence in Keefe D's home that will solve the murder of Tupac."

(58:04)
So up until this point, they've got all these statements that can't be corroborated. So now they're saying, "We have evidence of this home that we think probably is in the home." And as a result, we're going to find this evidence that's going to help us solve this case.

(58:20)
What I want to tell you right now is that he don't find it. And in the meantime, Detective Mogg retires. He now becomes Mr. Mogg. And Mr. Mogg goes to the grand jury. And in the grand jury, it's a secret proceeding. We're not there. The defense isn't sitting like we are here. It's just the prosecutors. There's a panel of people called the grand jurors and you have people come up and they testify under oath. And there's really no way for the defense to challenge any of it because it's done in secret. We don't really know about it. But in this particular case, Mr. Mogg is sworn to testify truthfully. And you know what Mr. Mogg does? He just reads pages of the book into the record.

(59:05)
He doesn't do any more in terms of an investigation than read pages of a book into the record. He never documents in any of his efforts any verification of the book before he reads it into the record. He walks up, gets on the stand and reads the book as if it's the gospel truth. And that's what he does. He treats that book like it's fact.

(59:40)
Now, what you're going to find out about Mr. Mogg is that he never wrote a report. So when he took over the case in 2017, all the way up until when he retired in 2023 and was in front of the grand jury, he never wrote a report. Not one time. Not like Detective Becker and not like Detective Long. And not like any other police officer who does their job. This man never writes a report. In fact, what happens is he transitions, right?

(01:00:13)
He's Metro detective, he retires, and then he gets a job working as an independent contractor for the district attorney's office as an investigator. And as an investigator, he doesn't have any police power. He continues to work as a lead detective on this case. Even though the procedure is, you hand your file and your officer's report to the next detective in line. That's how this works.

(01:00:39)
But he keeps the file for himself and he starts billing against the file after he retires as a detective at Metro. Because now he's an independent contractor. That's important to know. Why is that important? Because what the evidence is going to show you is that he backloaded his work. And when he finally writes a report, it's not an officer's report, it's a investigative report that stands from 2018 to current. And we just received it about five weeks ago.

(01:01:15)
The importance of capturing everything you do, the accuracy that you would need to be able to be in court on a murder case, not some type of college paper that you forgot to do and then the last second just put something together and get it out the door, Mr. Mogg does not do any of that. That's going to be important later for you to consider, because according to that report that he submitted five weeks ago or so, he never verified the book.

(01:01:51)
According to that report, he never investigated any of the alternate theories that were out there. And you're going to hear about those alternate theories. There are people who have developed over time answers to the question. Who did this and why? He never looked into any of it. Which I think, at the end of the day, don't you want to see what's out there to help your investigation?

(01:02:13)
And according to his work, his report, he did more on the case after he became an investigator than he did before when he was a detective.

(01:02:23)
What I'm going to tell you right now is what you're going to find when you listen to all the evidence that his work was biased, sloppy, and incomplete. Those are the three things you're going to determine for Mr. Mogg.

(01:02:36)
Now, because of the fact that in terms of the evidence itself, he doesn't have much, the state's going to lean pretty heavily on their witnesses. I want to give you a sampling of the type of people you're going to run across in this trial based upon their witness list in this case.

(01:02:52)
First person is this guy named Reggie Wright Jr. He's the... Remember? The security company for... Thank you, for Death Row Records. And what he is, is a felon. Second of all, you're also notified that he's a former Compton police officer. He worked for Compton PD for about five years and apparently he got disabled.

(01:03:19)
At some point he becomes a felon. You're going to learn about that. And his father, like I said before earlier, Reggie Wright Sr. was the head of the Compton PD gang unit. What you're also going to learn about Reggie is that, once again, he was supposed to be protecting Suge Knight. Where was he the night of the shooting? In addition to that, he orders his security team to not carry firearms the night of the shooting before the shooting took place.

(01:03:47)
What you're also going to learn is he wasn't even around when the shooting occurred. So the principal, meaning the person he should have been protecting the most, would have been Suge Knight, the head of Death Row Records, this man was nowhere to be found. He was sitting at a club called 662 down the street waiting for Suge to show up while he left his people that were working for him unarmed in the vehicles behind Suge Knight.

(01:04:14)
And when the push comes to shove, he orders his people to lie to police during their investigation. That's going to be called by them. That guy's going to be called by them. In addition to that, when everything was said and done, Suge Knight went to prison because he was not supposed to be in a fight in Las Vegas. He violates his release. Guess who takes over Death Row Records? Reggie Wright Jr.

(01:04:43)
Now the State is also going to bring in other people with unreliable positions, including criminal histories, financial motivations, and inconsistent statements. That are the people and the quality of the evidence that you're going to listen to in this case. Just to give you another example, there's going to be an individual by the name of Devonta "Dirt Rock" Lee. Who is he? He's been a paid informant for years.

(01:05:09)
You're going to hear that they have paid him to be an informant. He will of course say whatever he needs to say to avoid his own criminal actions, but his testimony will be inconsistent. And that's what you have to really rely on, is what exactly is he going to say and can you even believe it? In addition to that, you're also going to learn about a disgraced LAPD detective by the name of Greg Kading.

(01:05:35)
The State told you about him. He wrote a book. He benefited off of what was happening with regards to Keefe. Now Greg Kading, he stole the file. What you're going to learn is he actually stole the file. He took the Tupac and the Biggie case files and walked out the door. This is an LAPD detective that they are using, or one of the people that they're going to be focusing on to establish their case. He writes the book, then he holds himself out as...

Michael Sanft (01:06:00):

... case. He writes the book, then he holds himself out as the person who solves the murder. That's Greg Kading. That's the LAPD detective. Now, what you're also going to learn is Greg Kading, when he was a detective with LAPD, was basically caught manipulating witnesses. And because he was caught manipulating witnesses, it led to cases being overturned as a result. There was a court finding on this issue. A judge determined that, and there we go. That's Greg Kading. That's a witness in this case from that. Now, your challenge is, right? I mean, gosh, we're sitting here, there's cameras in the room. I mean, there's things going on, but it's really time. How do you, as jurors, try to figure out time on this case? There's been so much time. Delays. By who though?

(01:06:57)
And there's corruption. How do you look at your information that you're receiving with anything more than just skepticism? Like you're going to look at the stuff and you're like, well, I mean, you have a motive to lie. You have a motive to tell or deceive. And it's because at the end of the day, there's not actual facts. When you get past all the talk and me talking, talking, talking, just look at the actual facts. What facts do you have to support any of what Keffe D said on any of these interviews are in the book? When you look at the relevant timeline again and you see the length of time, ask yourself what facts do they have to even put Keffe D in a car in Las Vegas on September 7th, 1996? Facts. When you look at the video that happened at the MGM, look for him. Try to find him in there. Try to find any of the other individuals. Remember he said there's three individuals in the car with him and Orlando Anderson. Orlando's in the video because he's getting beat up. Find any of those other individuals on the videos of the MGM. Look for evidence that shows that Keffe D was even in Las Vegas on the night of the fight. Receipts, credit cards, a picture of him standing next to somebody else, maybe watching the fight from another casino. Something. Give me something.

(01:08:33)
In the book, you're going to learn that Keffe says that he was at the fight. He was sitting on the second row. He was sitting with all the celebrities and he dressed in his finest gear. There's not one iota of proof that he was ever at that fight. But you know who does show an iota of proof that he was at the fight? Suge Knight. Suge Knight was raided and at some point, there is a ticket stub to that fight, the Tyson versus Seldon fight with Suge Knight's possession because he went to the fight. And you would think a fight like this, you want to show everyone that you were at the fight. There's no evidence at all that man was even at the fight.

(01:09:16)
When we take fact versus fiction, really at the end of the day, what you're going to hear from witnesses that will testify to this is that Keffe D was known to do this. That's the testimony you're going to hear in this case. That's what you're going to hear about that man right there until you have to ask yourself a question. If I just say things, is that going to end up being one of those things where I'm going to be hemmed up for a murder if I just keep repeating that fiction? I keep repeating that? The answer is no. You have to corroborate everything I say in order for it to be true. Otherwise, it's just that, [inaudible 01:09:58]. And at the end of all of the time we spend together, what you're going to find is that the State cannot prove to you beyond reasonable doubt the claim that Keffe had anything to do with a first degree murder with use of deadly weapon. There's no facts to that matter. Thank you.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:10:17):

Thank you, Mr. Sanft. State, at this time, are you prepared to proceed on with your case in chief or did you need a brief break? I

Marc DiGiacomo (01:10:23):

Just need a break to bring the evidence in, so maybe give the jury a few minutes.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:10:26):

Sure. We can do that. All right, ladies and gentlemen, at this time, we are going to take a 15- minute break. During this recess, you are admonished on the talk or converse amongst yourselves or with anyone else on any subject connected to the trial or read, watch or listen to any report of or commentary on the trial of any person connected with this case by any media of information, including without limitation, newspaper, television, internet, and radio, or form or express any opinion on any subject connected with the trial until the case is finally submitted to you. We'll have you guys back here at 11:00 AM. Please rise for the jury. For the record, the jury has exited the room. Is there anything we need to address outside the presence?

Marc DiGiacomo (01:11:33):

No, Your Honor.

Michael Sanft (01:11:36):

No, Your Honor.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:11:36):

Okay. You guys are just going to work on marking those exhibits so it goes a little smoother?

Marc DiGiacomo (01:11:39):

I'm just going to bring the box in. We've already given our list and it's marked. And then I just need to grab the exhibits for the witnesses today.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:11:47):

Okay. Sounds good. All right. And then we'll give you about an hour or only return about an hour and 15 before we have the break.

Clerk (01:11:52):

[inaudible 01:11:53]. We're still on the record. So everybody still needs to remain quiet.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:11:52):

I have to stop at 12:15 [inaudible 01:12:00].

Marc DiGiacomo (01:11:52):

No, I'm just saying we need to be done before 12:15.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:11:52):

Oh, got it.

Clerk (01:11:52):

[inaudible 01:12:06].

Judge Carli Kierny (01:13:47):

... on record in State versus Davis, anything we need to address before bringing the jury in?

Michael Sanft (01:13:50):

No, Your Honor.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:13:51):

All right. Let's bring him in.

Michael Sanft (01:13:51):

It actually looks a lot better than mine. [inaudible 01:13:52].

Marc DiGiacomo (01:13:51):

This one?

Michael Sanft (01:13:51):

Yeah.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:13:52):

Okay. Thank you. [inaudible 01:14:21].

Michael Sanft (01:13:52):

Gotcha. The same person [inaudible 01:14:21].

Marc DiGiacomo (01:13:52):

No, Safina was in court. [inaudible 01:14:21].

Michael Sanft (01:13:52):

Okay. Different guy. The handwriting [inaudible 01:14:21].

Marc DiGiacomo (01:13:52):

I guess maybe they get taught how to do that.

Michael Sanft (01:13:52):

Yeah. It looks like [inaudible 01:14:21].

Marc DiGiacomo (01:13:52):

[inaudible 01:14:21].

Michael Sanft (01:13:52):

All right.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:13:52):

[inaudible 01:14:21] the stolen Dodge Caravan.

Michael Sanft (01:14:21):

I see. Thank you.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:14:56):

Hey, 30 years later, we'll figure out the facts are no more.

Michael Sanft (01:15:14):

We'll get there. [inaudible 01:15:17].

Speaker X (01:15:14):

[inaudible 01:15:20].

Court Officer (01:15:24):

Stand for the jury.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:15:59):

Do the parties stipulate to the presence of the jury?

Michael Sanft (01:16:07):

Yes, Your Honor.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:16:08):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:16:08):

You may be seated. All right. State, you may call your first witness.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:16:10):

Garry Dale.

Court Officer (01:16:10):

[inaudible 01:16:34].

Clerk (01:16:36):

You do solemnly swear the testimony you're about to give in this action shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Garry Dale (01:16:46):

Yes, I do.

Clerk (01:16:46):

You may be seated.

Garry Dale (01:16:46):

Thank you.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:16:46):

May I please have you state and spell your first and last name for the record?

Garry Dale (01:16:49):

First name is Garry, G-A-R-R-Y. Last name is Dale, D-A-L-E.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:16:57):

Thank you, sir. Whenever you're ready, Mr. DiGiacomo, you may proceed.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:16:58):

Thank you. Sir, back in September of 1996, how were you employed?

Garry Dale (01:17:02):

I was working for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department at that time.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:17:05):

And how long did you wind up working for Metro?

Garry Dale (01:17:09):

25 years total.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:17:11):

On September 7th of 1996, what was your assignment?

Garry Dale (01:17:15):

I was assigned to a bike team on bicycles on The Strip, Las Vegas Strip area.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:17:21):

Is the uniform similar to the ones they have today where you're wearing the yellow shirts or were you wearing something different?

Garry Dale (01:17:26):

Yellow shirts and black pants.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:17:28):

I want to direct your attention to right around 11:00 PM. What part of The Strip were you working?

Garry Dale (01:17:36):

I was working the little bit further south end, south of Flamingo.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:17:41):

Did you have a partner?

Garry Dale (01:17:43):

Yes, I did.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:17:44):

What was his name?

Garry Dale (01:17:45):

Richard Golgart.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:17:48):

While you were working on that area of The Strip, did you cause there to be some sort of car stop of a vehicle?

Garry Dale (01:17:58):

Yes, sir. I did.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:17:58):

And what was the purpose of stopping this vehicle?

Garry Dale (01:18:01):

I initiated a car stop on a black BMW that had no license plates.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:18:07):

May I approach, Judge?

Judge Carli Kierny (01:18:08):

You may.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:18:11):

First, I'm going to show you what's been marked as State's Proposed Exhibits 1 and 2. Now, there's some obvious markings on here, but these appear to be two aerials of the Las Vegas Valley from generally around the time period of the 2000s, '96 area.

Garry Dale (01:18:26):

Yes, sir.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:18:28):

Accurately reflect kind of the locations that they're describing on there? Flamingo, Harmon?

Garry Dale (01:18:33):

Yes.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:18:35):

Move to admit 1 and 2, Judge.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:18:36):

Any objection?

Michael Sanft (01:18:37):

No objection, Your Honor.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:18:38):

So admitted. You may publish.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:18:41):

I'm going to start with Exhibit number 1. And right next to you, don't click it, but there is a mouse that you can roll around with a pointer. Can you generally tell me where this car stop occurred?

Judge Carli Kierny (01:19:04):

It won't work because you're doing it off of your computer.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:19:06):

I have I had it plugged in. It works.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:19:08):

There it goes.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:19:08):

Little bit lower.

Garry Dale (01:19:11):

I'm just trying to wrap around the Boulevard here.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:19:17):

So if I told you that red dot's Harmon and Flamingo, I'm sorry, Harmon and Las Vegas Boulevard...

Garry Dale (01:19:22):

Yes, sir. A car stop was right around, I believe it was right around this area.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:19:30):

So just south of Flamingo on Las Vegas Boulevard?

Garry Dale (01:19:33):

Yes.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:19:34):

When you approached the vehicle, did you recognize the occupants?

Garry Dale (01:19:42):

No, I did not.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:19:45):

Why did you stop this vehicle?

Garry Dale (01:19:47):

It had no license plate on the back.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:19:50):

When you approached the vehicle, did the occupants communicate with you?

Garry Dale (01:19:53):

Yes.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:19:54):

And at that point, did you learn their identity?

Garry Dale (01:19:58):

They told me who they were, but just as identifying them, not.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:20:03):

Did you know them-

Garry Dale (01:20:04):

No, I did not.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:20:05):

... when they told you their names?

Garry Dale (01:20:06):

They told us their names because we asked them their names, but I didn't know them. I had no knowledge of them before that. We ID'd them.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:20:15):

As you sit here today, do you recall who they were?

Garry Dale (01:20:18):

Yeah. Tupac Shakur and Marion Knight.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:20:23):

May I approach?

Judge Carli Kierny (01:20:23):

You may.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:20:25):

Showing you grand jury Exhibit number 3. Is that how the two of them appeared to look that evening when you approached them?

Garry Dale (01:20:36):

Yes.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:20:38):

In particular, Mr. Shakur is wearing or has on a very large gold necklace.

Garry Dale (01:20:46):

Yes.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:20:47):

Did you talk to him about that necklace?

Garry Dale (01:20:50):

Yeah, we talked to him for a few minutes out there and just remarked to him, "Wow, man, that's a huge piece of gold," or something like that, that he had around his neck.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:21:03):

Would you describe your interaction with them as congenial?

Garry Dale (01:21:06):

Yes.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:21:06):

Okay. Did you ask them about the license plate, why their vehicle had no license plate?

Garry Dale (01:21:12):

Yes, I did.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:21:13):

And what was the response?

Garry Dale (01:21:15):

They stated that they were filming a video. So they had taken the license plate off because they were filming a video going up and down The Strip.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:21:22):

Move to admit 3, Judge.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:21:25):

Any objection?

Michael Sanft (01:21:29):

I'm sorry. No objection, Your Honor.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:21:32):

So admitted. You may publish.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:21:37):

And this large gold medallion is what we're talking about, correct?

Garry Dale (01:21:41):

Yes, sir.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:21:43):

How did that interaction with Mr. Knight and Mr. Shakur end?

Garry Dale (01:21:50):

We told them that they were going to have to put the plate back on their car, and we warned them and released them.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:21:58):

Did you remain down in The Strip area after they left that car stop?

Garry Dale (01:22:03):

Yes, sir.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:22:04):

Well, fast-forward about, let's say 10 minutes later, something unusual happened. What happened?

Garry Dale (01:22:13):

We were continuing riding on The Strip area. We were heading southbound on the Boulevard, and we heard some calls come out about a vehicle. Can't remember exactly what was said, but heading up towards Harmon, we saw the vehicle that had been described in the median of the road. It looked like it had ran up on the median and was stopped there in the middle of the boulevard.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:22:38):

What do you do when you see that?

Garry Dale (01:22:40):

We approached the vehicle.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:22:42):

Is it you and Mr. Goldberg or Officer Golgart?

Garry Dale (01:22:44):

Yes, Officer Golgart and I.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:22:46):

And do you see either of the two people that you saw earlier in the vehicle?

Garry Dale (01:22:52):

Yes.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:22:55):

And who is that?

Garry Dale (01:22:55):

Marion Knight was outside of the vehicle, walking around, talking. And Tupac Shakur was being removed by EMS people.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:23:08):

As Marion Knight is talking, do you recall anything he's saying?

Garry Dale (01:23:15):

He was telling us to take care of Tupac Shakur. Marion Knight had a chunk of shrapnel or something in his head. He was bleeding. And when I wanted to talk to him, he was adamant that we needed to go and care for Mr. Shakur.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:23:30):

Did you then go to Mr. Shakur?

Garry Dale (01:23:33):

Yes, I did.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:23:34):

And then what do you do? What's your responsibility as it relates to Mr. Shakur as the EMTs working on him?

Garry Dale (01:23:40):

I was trying to talk to him to find out what had happened. Excuse me. Gather information to see who had fired at them.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:23:48):

Did you wind up riding anywhere with Mr. Shakur?

Garry Dale (01:23:52):

Yes, I rode to the hospital in the ambulance with him.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:23:55):

During that time period, between the time you get to Mr. Shakur and the time period he gets taken into the hospital, are you able to have any sort of communication with Mr. Shakur?

Garry Dale (01:24:05):

He was still talking and I was trying to convince him to tell me the name of whoever his assailants were.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:24:14):

And did he ever respond?

Garry Dale (01:24:16):

Yes. He responded, "No, we'll take care of it." Something like that.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:24:19):

Said, "No, we'll take care of it. We'll take care of it."

Garry Dale (01:24:25):

"We'll take care of it." Something like that.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:24:26):

And that's the only thing you were able to gather from Mr. Shakur?

Garry Dale (01:24:30):

Yeah. I couldn't get him to talk to me any further than that. That was repeated a couple of times.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:24:35):

I'm going to approach with a few photographs. Well, let me back up. When an incident like this happens, there's first responders, but then there is detectives, crime scene analysts, everybody who's called out. Is that correct?

Garry Dale (01:24:50):

Yes, sir.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:24:53):

Showing you what's been marked as grand jury Exhibit number 4. Do you recognize the individual who appears to be inside of that vehicle at that time?

Garry Dale (01:25:06):

Dan Ford.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:25:08):

Do you know what he did for Metro?

Garry Dale (01:25:11):

At the time, he was a detective. I was not there when that photograph was taken, but at the time, he was a detective. I'm not sure what he was. Homicide or general assignment or...

Marc DiGiacomo (01:25:23):

Could he be a crime scene?

Garry Dale (01:25:24):

Crime scene analyst. CSI.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:25:28):

Okay. And then I'm just going to show you a few other pictures of the vehicle itself. Showing you State's proposed Exhibits 5 through 8. Just flip through those.

Garry Dale (01:25:43):

Okay.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:26:01):

Is that how the vehicle appeared to you when you first arrived on scene? Obviously without people in it.

Garry Dale (01:26:06):

Right. On the scene of where it stopped in the middle of Harmon Boulevard.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:26:11):

Move to admit 5 through 8.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:26:16):

Any objection, Mr. Sanft?

Michael Sanft (01:26:17):

No objection, Your Honor.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:26:17):

So admitted. You may publish.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:26:20):

And then finally, while you were at UMC, did you collect some personal items off Mr. Shakur?

Garry Dale (01:26:27):

Yes.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:26:28):

I'm showing you what's been marked as State's proposed Exhibit number 33. Do you recognize that?

Garry Dale (01:26:33):

Yes.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:26:34):

What is it?

Garry Dale (01:26:35):

That's the objects I removed from Tupac Shakur. I impounded those into evidence. There should be a property report for those.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:26:45):

Let's talk about that large gold chain we see in that photograph right there. The second time you came across Mr. Shakur, was he wearing that gold chain that's around his neck?

Garry Dale (01:26:57):

No.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:26:58):

And so you weren't able to recover that from him at the hospital?

Garry Dale (01:27:04):

No.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:27:04):

Judge, I'm just going to put up a few of these photographs.

Judge Carli Kierny (01:27:18):

Okay. My clerk's letting me know that 4 was not admitted.

Marc DiGiacomo (01:27:19):

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