Tupac Murder: HEATED Ex-Gang Member Flips in Courtroom Clash

You better treat me as a house to. witness. >> This Tupac Shakur murder trial is. bringing in some fireworks, but not from. the prosecution. From a former alleged. gang member who made it clear he didn't. want to be there. >> I don't want to send him to prison. Sure. Even though we don't like each. other. >> Even seemingly addressing the defendant, Dwayne Kephy D. Davis directly. >> Talk to your lawyer, man. This dude is. tripping. >> It appears he doesn't want to send. anybody to prison. We're going to break. down the biggest moments from that.

explosive testimony and the testimony. from someone that Kefi D's camp has. seemingly suggested may be the one. responsible for what happened to Tupac. Welcome to Sidebar presented by Law and. Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Okay, so we're back with more highlights. out of Las Vegas, Nevada. This is as we. continue our coverage of the trial. against Dwayne Kei D. Davis, the only. person ever charged with the murder of.

Tupac Shakur, who was gunned down in Las. Vegas in 1996. Now, we've already broken. down some of the major moments that have. happened so far in this trial. But. yesterday, yesterday after we taped our. episode, something happened. Something. happened that you just need to see for. yourself, okay? You need to hear, you. need to see to believe. Arguably the. most explosive testimony yet came in. when this man, Mob James McDonald, a. former Mob Pyu gang member, took the. stand and he made it clear right off the.

bat that he didn't want to be there, telling the court to treat him as a. hostile witness. And at one point, he. even seemingly addressed Kei Directly. Yeah. And possibly, by the way, Kei D. had some words for him at the end, too. We'll get to that. Now, there's also. testimony from Reggie Wright Jr. here. We've been waiting for this. This is the. head or the former head of security for. Death Row Records testified about what. seemed to be security lapses, security. failures that may have left Tupac.

especially vulnerable that night, though. he denied any involvement in Tupac's. killing. Lots to get into there. By the. way, I've interviewed uh Reggie Wright. Jr. on my NewsNation show, Jesse Weber. Live. He also denied having anything to. do with Tupac there. But here's the. thing. There has been this theory. floating around for a while now. It's. seemingly part of the defense's case. that Reggie Wright Jr. was somehow. involved, somehow helped orchestrate. Tupac's killing. And the prosecution, knowing this, they needed to shut down.

that theory immediately. So, what do. they do? They call in mob James. McDonald. Now, before we even get to. that, I just want to let you know this. is a big case that we've been following. here on Sidebar. We follow a lot of big. trials, a lot of big cases. We're. sometimes limited in how much we can. show you of all the information out. there. That is why if you don't know. about it, we have the case file section. on the Long Crime Plus app set up. So, we're opening up the evidence fault so. you can inspect like raw body cam. footage, the 911 calls, the crime scene. photos, the full trial tapes, the.

documents, all that for yourself. firsthand. And also, by the way, you get. adree streaming of all your favorite law. crime and court TV shows. So, you can. see the full picture for an entire month. free. you head over to longrimeplus.com, enter promo code sidebar, start. exploring today. All that information is. up there. Okay. As I said, McDonald was. this member of Mob Pyro and apparently. worked for security for Suge Knight. Now, he'd known him for a long time. And. when the prosecutor asked him directly.

if Wright Jr. was involved, he didn't. hesitate. >> Did it appear to you in any way that. Reggie Wright Jr. was coordinating. uh the murder of Tupac Shakur. >> Um. impossible. >> I mean, and I say this because you're. aware that there have been some. conspiracy theories that Reggie Wright. Jr. is responsible for the murder of. Tupac. >> And and and it's so not true. His father.

was imprecated and his father has. something to do with it. Reggie Wright. used to be a police officer and and here. again, I've been knowing Reggie Wright. over 50 years. His daddy as a police. officer. patrolling my neighborhood. He done took. me to jail as many times when I messed. up. Um. if if if Reggie killed Tupac, then Deow. is over with.

Tupac was the the money source. Tupac. was was that guy in death row. So it's. Reggie would have had a problem if he. would have did that. And Su I I truly. believe Sugar would have opened his. mouth if Reggie betrayed him like that. >> And then McDonald went on to describe. Wright's role at the club to essentially. keep an eye on Tupac. Now, that would. contradict the theory that he would have. been involved or orchestrating a hit,

but then things got intense. Take a. listen. >> So, you was going to get some. repercussion from that and everything. else that was going on. So, living this. life, you got to be ready. If you're. not, you might as well just lay down. Now, you weren't there for the uh. beating of Orlando Anderson at the MGM, were you? >> No, I was. >> Like we talked earlier, you were at 662.

>> Yeah. >> Um but uh. do you are you aware of why Orlando was. targeted? >> I'm aware of a lot of things. um things that was going on, people ain't talked about it in 30. years. Today ain't one of them. Um I I. don't mean to be funny, but here's the.

thing. A lot of 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. Uh, a lot of people got hurt. behind. this situation in itself. Um, living the life and in how we lived in.

Compton, uh, is one thing. You bring back all of the guys that made. it like me. I'm 61 years old now. To to. rehash and relive this situation again. I I told every attorney in here that. tried to get me to come here. You better. treat me as a house to witness. And I. think that's where I'm about to go now. cuz you asking me questions. I can't. answer those questions. >> Okay. Well, let me ask you this then.

I'm not going to speak on Orlando. Um, let me ask you something about yourself. That was a rumor that Tupac had uh. knocked you out one time. >> out of kill. >> That would have been your sponsor that. happened. >> Yeah, I'm being honest with you and. everybody else. I said it on my podcast. show. >> I know this is a 180. I get it. But I. just got to call out this amazing. sponsor. I think you guys are going to. love it. I think you need to upgrade. your closet, right? Reset Autumn's here. Got to tell you about Quint. Okay, Quint's everyday staples like their. ultra soft cotton tees or their premium.

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>> Was there Can you describe that for us. when you went back in terms of what kind. of tension we're talking about? >> Are you sure you want me to answer that? >> Um. >> is it going to be graphic? >> No, I ain't going to I got to raise the. word in it, but you asking me a. question. I don't. And and what I explained to them, I. don't want to send them to prison. Sure. even though we don't like each other. Sure. I don't want to send you to you to. prison. So that's why I'm I'm I'm here.

where I'm at and where I am because. I I've changed my life. I'm I'm raising. my grandkids. I'm teaching them never to. be like they fa. 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. And you asking me. questions that can can hurt him. And I.

like I told them, I'm trying to avoid to. answer the questions that they might. look at me and say something is wrong. >> Well, let me let me let me put this way. Let me help you with this. >> Okay. So, these people right here, what. they want to know from you is did you. see who shot Tupac? >> I told you no. >> Correct. So outside of that question, right, the next question I'm asking you. is when you went back to Compton, was it. like a a Southside crib shoots a pyro.

blood and then a pyro blood shoots a. Southside crib? Is that the tension that. we're talking about? >> Do I answer this? >> That's a straightforward question. That's a yes or no answer. >> When Okay. >> Did you see that? when when when I was a. part of that. Like I was a part of that. and and I was no because you asking. something that's going to hurt this dude. and. >> when I when when when Okay, let me let. me stop. >> And once again, I want to I want to ask.

>> when we when we got back to company, >> okay, >> it was a gang war. People were getting hurt, >> okay? >> People was being sought. People was. being people were looking for certain. individuals from his neighborhood. >> Okay. >> As well they did mine. >> Okay. >> But Orlando, him and certain other people were being. assaulted because people wanted to kill. them. >> Sure.

>> Were they the only ones that they wanted. to kill? >> They're not the only one up in this in. here. >> No, they weren't the only one. is his. neighborhood in particular, but they. were the main subjects of of of of a. gang war. It was in the middle such as. me. >> So, you're telling us that people back. home somehow had some type of. information that said that that guy as a. bunch of other people were involved in. what? >> In the murder of Tupac. >> Okay. But my question to you,

>> my question. stop. >> Can you focus on me for a second? Yeah, I will. >> And I apologize. I just want to make. sure that we're clear. Okay. For these. people in terms of that information, none of those people were there, right? >> What people you be speaking on? The. people that was already in the. neighborhood or the people that lost. left Las Vegas that same night Tupac was. shot to go home, bear their arms, and go. to somebody else's neighborhood to look.

for somebody. >> They had to pay it back. So once again, my question to you is is. that the information that I'm asking. about is the people that back home what. you're saying were eyewitnesses to this. >> How could people back home be eyewitness. to something that happened in Vegas? No, that's not what I'm saying. >> The people that were here in Los Listen. to my question, sir. The people that. were here in Las Vegas, you're telling. me were eyewitnesses to what happened. and went back home? Is that what you're. telling me? >> I'm telling you the people that was at. 6. >> Answer my question, sir. Yes or no? >> I can't answer that without a without a.

what you call. You trying to tell me to. say something that you're not going to. understand if you let me explain to you. >> No. Answer my question. >> I'm not answering nothing. I don't know. what you're talking about. >> Okay. >> Okay. Mr. McDonald, focus for a second. >> Oh, I am focused. Very. >> focus on this. My question to you is. this. You didn't know what happened that. night cuz you weren't there. >> I was at 662. >> Right. Do you know who was that was. there? >> I know everybody that was there.

>> Okay. Like who? >> Talk to your lawyer, man. This dude is. tripping. I'm not going to explain that. I I can't. I can't answer that. >> And then he vehemently denied ever. seeing the person who shot Tupac, reiterating that he wasn't there. >> And once again, I just want to look, we're just trying to figure out who shot. Tupac. You're telling us that you. weren't there at the scene. That's all I. want to know. At the end of the day, that's it. Right. Was I in the entourage.

when Tupac got shot? No. Okay. >> Nothing else, right? >> I was at 62. I mean, I ain't that ain't. hard. That I mean that's easy map. >> No further questions. >> Anything further? State. >> All right. We got one more phase and. then we'll let you out of here. >> Okay. >> Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, any. questions for this witness? >> Then a juror had a question. Yeah, jurors are allowed to ask questions. under Nevada law. I was actually talking. to Mark Aragos about this uh the other.

night. Says defense attorneys don't. usually like this because they don't. feel that that should be the role, the. job of a juror to be asking questions. like this. That's not their role to be. in that position to direct where this. narrative, this questioning should go. It can get uh confusing. There's a role. for a defense attorney. There's a role. for a prosecutor. Um, now prosecutors. might like it because it kind of gives. them an idea of what the jury may be. thinking, but point is jurors get to ask. questions and you'll see what this.

question was here. And after all the. tension, all the fireworks, there were. his parting words to the court as well, Mr. McDonald. >> All right. I have a question for you. from one of our jurors if you can answer. it. Did Reggie Wright Jr. instruct. security to not have firearms the night. of the fight? To be honest, I don't know if Reggie. Wright told his people, all the police. officers not to have guns, and I don't. know why. He sure didn't tell us cuz we. had ours, and that's the honest truth.

>> All right. Uh, any followup based on. that, state? >> No, your honor. >> Defense. >> I just want to clarify what the. witnesses said. You're telling us that. you had guns that night? >> Yeah. >> I just want to know. >> But you had guns that night, right? Yes, we did. >> All right. Thank you. >> All right. See, I know you didn't want. to be here, but thank you for coming. back. >> Okay. Can I say something? >> I want to apologize to everybody, but I. I I find this kind of funny and and and. truthfully,

what you going through, brother, is what. you going through. I didn't want to be a. part of that and I'm not a part of that. So, I I I appreciate everything and I. apologize to all of you. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. McDonald. You are. free to go. >> So, that was McDonald. Then the. prosecution called somebody we've been. talking a lot about so far, Reggie. Wright Jr., right, the former head of. security for Death Row Records. He is an. important witness because his testimony. establishes the protocols, the. escalating tensions, but most.

importantly, seemingly what could be. argued to be a security failure that. left Tupac vulnerable that night. Now, Kefi D in the past has seemingly put the. focus on Wright Jr. this theory out. there that he somehow was involved or. helped orchestrate Tupac's killing. And. part of that theory would be that Wright. deliberately left Tupac vulnerable. But. Wright's testimony seemingly tells a. different story because he seems to.

claim that security was actually. increased before the shooting because. after the song Hit Up was dropped, tensions were high and everybody. believed that Tupac's life was at risk. Um were as the head of rightway security. which was contracted by death row. records uh were you responsible for two. core security? >> Yes sir. >> How did you handle two box your core. security? >> Uh well I had two guys that were.

primarily always assigned to him. One. guy was a guy by the name of Kevin. Hackey who was with him a lot at at the. beginning. uh. later on towards the end uh a gentleman. by the name of Frank Alexander was the. one that worked with him as well and. then I'll always have additional guys uh. like a Al Giddings is one that they'll. fill in for him when those guys wasn't. available but generally always had one. security guard with him after this.

particular sale came out about May or. June we uped the two security officers. Now, you mentioned a particular song. came out that changed how you handled. Tupac Shakur Tupac Shakur's security. What song are you talking about? >> It was a song called Hit Up. >> Um, and is it fair to say um. that in that song, Tupac is. aggressively expressing his dislike for.

the members of Bad Boy Entertainment as. well as other artists. >> That's fair to say. And as a result of. that, you decided to change the security. for Tupac or increase it. >> Well, I was a part of the discussion and. ultimately had to prove it, but I'm sure. Mr. Knight, possibly Mr. Shakur and maybe the. security officer there was primarily. with him. We all agreed that he probably. need another guy with him. >> Yeah, it seems Wright himself wasn't. with Tupac that night. He testified that.

he went to the club instead of the Tyson. fight. So when he heard news of the. shooting, he says he was blindsided. >> Well, we all know that on September 7th, 1996, Tupac Shakur was shot and Mr. Knight was, uh, at least grazed in the. head by a bullet. Um, did you find out. about that? >> Yes, sir. >> How did you find out about that? >> Two gentlemen, uh, Buncher, true name was Alton McDonald, and a. gentleman by the name of Neckbone. Well,

his true name is Roger Williams with his. mon neck bone. They came inside the club and came. straight to me. It was like Reggie. Reggie Sugar and Pac just got shot down. the street. I thought they were messing with me. because they like where Reggie at, you. know, cuz I wasn't there with them. But. then uh Mr. Kis was standing near me. I. guess he talked to some of the officers. that was working out front and he kind. of verified to me that something.

happened and then by that time I see. about four or five other units that were. working at the club. They started taking. out heading that way. >> Now we have this infamous MGM security. footage that we've played before, right? Appears to show Tupac, Suge, others. allegedly attacking Orlando Anderson. Remember that would be the motive for. why all this went down. that Anderson, Kefi D's nephew, was upset about this. and retaliated against Tupac. Kefi D has. said that his nephew was humiliated. So.

again, that's what allegedly sparked the. shooting. But when the fight was brought. up at Suge's probation hearing, Anderson. apparently testified that Suge was. trying to stop the fight. And according. to Wright, Anderson was paid a stack of. cash to allegedly lie under oath. >> Is it fair to say that Mr. Knight was on. probation at the time of the beating at. the MGM rank? >> He was.

>> Can you tell us the people who are. involved in this? >> That gentleman right there in the white. is u bunch um Alton McDonald. There appears to be somebody in a gold. shirt. Who is that? That appeared to be Mr. Shakur. Well, that's Mr. Knight and then that's. Mr. Williams. >> So, you see Mr. Williams, Mr. Knight, Mr. Shakur. Uh, those are the people that are. evident to you in this portion of the.

video. Is that right? That's correct, sir. >> And then, um, after you guys got back. from Las Vegas back to the Southern. California area, did Mr. Knight have a. legal problem as a result of his alleged. participation in that beating. >> That's correct, sir. >> And can you uh explain that to us? >> Uh they've already meant initially. they've already man they said for a u 30. test for u u that he had did with his. probation officer but um while he was.

still in custody, they then added the. charge of u of he violated his probation. for u assaulting Mr. Anderson. >> He's on probation. and he's on video uh. at least what appears to be. participating in the beating of Mr. Anderson. Um and so he is charged with. violating his probation. >> That's correct, sir. >> Um and uh do you participate in any of. the preparation for Mr. uh Knight's.

hearing on his probation violation. >> with with his attorney, Mr. Kenner? I. attended several meetings. Yes. And then. uh are you aware of a meeting with Mr. Anderson? >> That's correct. >> Can you tell us about that? >> So uh we met him at his attorney office, Mr. Ed. Uh was in Sil Beach, I believe, where. his office was. And um. we met with him. the attorneys had an. agreement where um I guess they were.

going to make a settlement or something. for uh uh. and Mr. Anderson to come and testify on. Mr. Knight behalf where I believe the. settlement was of about $60,000 because. some of the deferral people had. assaulted him and some would say for him. coming and testifying on the behalf of. Mr. Mr. Knight. >> Okay. So, just to be clear, prior to.

um Mr. Knight's revocation hearing, there was a meeting with Orlando. Anderson, the person who was beaten in. that video. Is that right? >> That's correct. >> And then there was an agreement. that $60,000 would change hands between. Suge Knight or Death Row or some aspect. of that side to Mr. Anderson. Is that. correct? That's correct. But that was. made between the attorneys, Mr. Kenner, who was also present, and Mr. Paul.

>> Okay. I'm not saying that you're the. person that did that. I'm just saying. you're that. >> I was at the meeting, myself and Norris. Anderson, who was the general manager of. the company at the time. >> Okay. And then. uh at that probation hearing, is it fair. to say that Mr. Anderson said that Mr. Knight was just trying to stop the fight. and not participate in the fight at all. >> That was his testimony. Yes. >> And that was after he received the. $60,000.

>> That part? I don't know. >> After the agreement for the. >> It was agreement in place. So, >> okay. And then. is is it fair to say that uh um the. judge disregarded Mr. Anderson's. testimony and revoked Mr. Knight's. >> parole? Um, >> well, did the judge believe Mr. Anderson's testimony? >> So, Mr. Knight was subsequently violated. for his probation and receive 9 years um.

sentence. Now look, even though there's. been arguments that the media may have. been overstimulating or overhyping this. East Coast, West Coast rivalry, it does. seem that tensions between rival music. labels and opposing gangs were at an. all-time high back in the '9s, and. security and protection seemingly became. top priorities. But in a twist of fate, one of the bodyguards called out from. work the night that Tupac was shot and.

killed. Take a look. >> And you had mentioned earlier that after. the uh song Hit Up had come out, and. that was probably what, three, four. months before this. >> U you had assigned two security officers. to Mr. Shakur. >> That's correct. >> Uh so where's the other one? >> Well, that was Mr. Hackey. Kevin Hackey. he was scheduled to also be uh attending. and writing and that's who I actually. thought was going to be with him coming. up with him because he normally was.

with him you know him and Mr. Alexander. they kind of worked out who would be. with Mr. Shakur and um for some reason. he he didn't show up he now telling me. he had a late arrest and he was stuck at. the hospital all day dealing with her. arrest. >> um. So the uh the fight night uh arrives. Where are you? >> You go to the fight. >> I went to the parking lot of the fight.

So it was kind of hack act um hectic to. get inside but also uh got a call from. Mr. Giddings, Al Giddings, who was my uh. supervisor at the club, and they was. having some logistic problems, some. problems there, and I elected to go and. uh get things in order at at the club. >> And when it came time for. crossexamination, the defense pointed. out that it wasn't just their client who. could potentially profit from talking. about the case. What about right? Um in.

your YouTube channel you have spoken a. little bit about uh me for instance, right? >> Uh that's correct. >> Um. >> and you have spoken about me as well. >> Yeah. So in terms of um your podcast or. YouTube channel um and once again I. don't think it was anything derogatory. It's more like uh he's never tried a. criminal case or I think Hollywood ass. attorney. I think you had said something. like that. Right. >> Well yeah did about 10 interviews in the.

last two months. So, I may have said. something like that. >> It's fair this pretty good point. At. some point, uh, you had actually. instructed Keith that, hey, he can. actually make money doing the YouTube. stuff. Remember that? >> Uh, it didn't go quite like that. But I did. pass his number to u a few YouTube. channels after he and I had this. discussion about doing u something on my. channel, but I refuse to pay him cuz I'm. not giving someone I believe is Tupac.

killer money. Sure. Um, you had a. interview with uh a Mr. Mog. Do you. remember that? >> Detective Mog. Yes, sir. >> And question was asked by Detective Mog. So, what do you get paid for your. interviews? And you respond, "Oh, I get. about 2500 3,000 a show." You remember. that? >> Uh, that's that's accurate. So, I might. have said that. >> You can make $8,000 to $10,000 off of. me. And you just gave me 2500 3,000.

Do you remember saying that to detective. M? >> I'm I'm sure that's doesn't sound like. accurate statements. So, >> I'm sure I did. >> So, you see the defense trying to mount. this argument that Wright's credibility. should be called into question. Why. wasn't he protecting Suge, who had a lot. to lose if he violated his probation by. getting into an altercation? Remember, he was seemingly Suge's head of. security. And the defense seemingly even. went as far as suggesting that Wright's. absence might not have been accidental. >> So Suge Knight is in Las Vegas.

and you were with them every single day. and in September of 1996. He just happened to get in this spray. and next you know he's going to prison, right? >> I'm sorry. >> Why? Let me ask you this. >> Why did Chub go to prison? He violated. his probation. >> Right. So you knew of course that he was. on probation, right? Before he. >> The whole time I was with him. >> You did? >> From 1994. Yes. >> Yeah. And so you knew that the person.

the number one person from records, the. primary principle for you um potentially. could go to prison if he got into a. fight, for instance. Right. >> Correct. >> And on this particular night, you. weren't around for him when he was in. this quote unquote fight. Right. I was around with Mr. Knight about 70 to. 80% of his life. So I guess a lot of 20%. I wasn't with him. Okay. Public. And. when I say that I mean public cuz.

there's a lot of times he laid up sleep. with somebody and I wasn't with him. >> So in the most important time of night's. life having your protection you weren't. there for. >> Unfortunately not. That's correct. We. don't know what the jury's taken away. from all this, but we're seeing the. arguments from the prosecution and the. defense pretty clearly through these. witnesses. Now, this trial, of course, is continuing. We are going to cover it. as much as we can here on Sidebar. That's what we plan to do, do these. daily recaps. And Long Crime is going to. be there every step of the way, too. We're streaming this trial live on our. trials YouTube channel. You can check it.

out there. And as I mentioned earlier, you can dig deeper into this case, the. actual documents, the actual evidence, and also on all the big stories that. we're covering on the Law and Crime Plus. app under Case Files. That's all we have. for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining. us. As always, please subscribe on. YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast. And you. can also check us out on NBC's Peacock. as well. Thank you so much, everybody. I'll see you next time.