Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been named on the witness list in the trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who is charged in connection with the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur.
Opening statements began in the long-awaited trial over the drive-by shooting that killed Shakur, with prosecutors seeking to establish Davis’ alleged role in orchestrating the attack.
Davis, 63, is facing one count of murder with the use of a deadly weapon, with an allegation that the offence was committed with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang.
Prosecutors allege that Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, ordered the attack as an act of retaliation and provided the firearm used in the shooting.
They do not allege that Davis was the person who pulled the trigger.
Davis has pleaded not guilty to the charge and, if convicted, could face life imprisonment.
The case centres on the shooting of Shakur, one of the most influential figures in hip-hop, in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996.
Shakur had travelled to Las Vegas to attend a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand before he was shot while riding in a BMW driven by former Death Row Records boss Marion “Suge” Knight.
According to prosecutors, a white Cadillac pulled alongside Knight’s vehicle and gunfire erupted.
Shakur, who was 25 at the time, sustained multiple gunshot wounds and died from his injuries six days later.
Davis is the only person to have been charged in connection with Shakur’s killing, nearly three decades after the shooting.
The prosecution’s witness list includes Combs, although being listed as a potential witness does not by itself establish that he will testify or indicate that he is accused of any offence in the case.
The trial is expected to revisit events surrounding the long-running feud between Shakur’s Death Row Records camp and rival figures in the hip-hop industry.
The prosecution will seek to prove its allegation that Davis played a central role in organising the attack, while the defence is expected to challenge the evidence against him.
The case has attracted renewed international attention because of Shakur’s enduring influence on music and popular culture and the decades-long mystery surrounding his death.
