Tupac Murder Trial: The Shocking Detail That Sealed Keffe D's Fate

On September 7th, 1996, Tupac Shakur came to Las Vegas to attend. a Mike Tyson fight. >> Nearly 30 years later, the man accused. of orchestrating Tupac's murder finally. stood trial. >> that the state cannot prove to you. beyond reason the claim that Kee was had. anything to do with a first-degree. murder with use of deadly weapons. And. over the course of this trial, the jury. heard from eyewitnesses, law. enforcement, even those who knew Tupac.

so well. >> He head down, taking our seat belts off. when when we heard the gunshots when. it's all hell. >> He was still uh talking and I was trying. to I was trying to uh convince him to. tell me the name of whoever his asalants. were. >> And did he ever respond? Yes. He. responded, "Uh, no, no, we we'll take. care of it." He said, "We did the other. one." And so at that point, what did you.

think he was talking about? >> Um, me personally, the only other one was. Tupac, but we had nothing. We didn't think he. was, we were talking about Christopher. Wallace. We didn't ask him any questions about. Tupac. He offered that on his own. >> And now, after weeks of testimony, heated cross-examination, a massive, massive verdict, we are breaking down. the biggest moments from the trial of. Dwayne Key D. Davis. Welcome to Sidebar,

presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse. Weber. I you know I can't believe that after. almost 30 years we actually have a. verdict in connection with the murder of. Tupac Shakur from back in September of. 1996. It's kind of unbelievable to say. that that we're at this place. But. honestly, this was quite the trial to watch out in. Las Vegas. The arguments, the witnesses, the tension, the verdict. That's what I. want to get into right now because if. you didn't have the opportunity to watch.

every second of this trial of Dwayne KVD. Davis, the only man ever arrested, criminally charged, and prosecuted for. the shooting of Tupac Shakur, this is. what you want to watch. The full trial. recap of the biggest moments. Now, we. know in talking about the moments, talking about the emotion, talking about. the man, Tupac's family was in the. courtroom when that verdict was read, and his sister set Shakur was reportedly. visibly emotional. There was even. reports of hugging members of the. prosecution team afterward. The family. later released a statement saying they.

are elated and relieved by today's. verdict, that this is not the end of the. story, emphasizing that Tupac's legacy, his impact on this world lives on today. They also specifically honored his late. mother, Aphini Shakur, for her strength. and unwavering belief in her son's. truth. This case went unsolved for. decades, basically until Davis began. making public statements. I mean, for. example, his 2019 memoir, Compton Street. Legend, and also in various interviews.

So, Davis, a 63-year-old, apparently. former gang member leader, was. ultimately convicted of first-degree. murder with a deadly weapon for. orchestrating the drive-by shooting of. Tupac Shakur. The jury deliberated for. less than 3 hours after a trial that. went on for weeks. And prosecutors. argued that Davis orchestrated the. killing and that it was a form of. retaliation for this fight that happened. earlier in the night at the MGM Grand. where Shakur and his entourage beat up. Davis's nephew, Orlando Baby Lane.

Anderson. Now, Davis was apparently in. the white Cadillac from which the shots. were fired. And while he didn't pull the. trigger himself, he provided the gun and. ordered the attack. Now, the. prosecution's case relied heavily on. Davis's own words. Prosecutors arguing. that regardless of who fired the fatal. shots under Nevada law, he was. criminally responsible for his role in. orchestrating this murder. And I'll talk. about the defense in a minute. But as I. do this trial recap, I really want to. start with the opening statements. This.

is the jury's very first introduction to. the case because there are studies and. stats out there that suggest jurors. sometimes make up their minds right. after an opening, which by the way, they. shouldn't do. It's not even evidence. But that's just the reality of how. powerful these opening statements, these. first impressions can be. Now, before I. jump in there, I got to let you know, as. I said, if you didn't watch this entire. trial, if you didn't look at every. motion, every piece of evidence, there. is something that we have here, cuz. we're kind of limited on sidebar about. how much we can show you. So, if you go.

to the case files section on the Long. Crime Plus app, we're basically opening. up the evidence vault, so you can. inspect the raw body cam footage, the. 911 calls, the crime scene photos, the. full trial tapes firsthand on all these. major cases that we've been covering. You get adfree streaming of all your. favorite long crime and court TV shows. And we've got a special Labor Day offer. for you. So, you use my promo code. sidebar, you'll get your first 30 days. of Long Crime Plus free. The offer ends. September 7th. So, head on over to Long. Crime Plus. Use code Sidebar to.

subscribe today. Okay, let's get into. the uh opening statements. And here is. prosecutor Binu Pal laying out the. scenario for the jury. On September 7th, 1996, Tupac Shapur came to Las Vegas to attend. a Mike Tyson fight. After the fight, Tupac along with Shook Knight, Trayvon. 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. That attack was captured. on video. During those 2 and 1/2 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. Dwayne Davis did. not hold the trigger. You will learn.

that Dwayne Davis got the gun. You will. learn that he got into a white Cadillac. Dwayne Davis made sure that the shooters. were armed and ready to execute their. Pala gets into the heart of the case. Davis's own words that he admitted his. involvement in police conversations, media interviews, a memoir. But Dwayne. Davis does admit a number of things that.

he was in Las Vegas. That he was mad. about Orlando Anderson. That he was the. boss. That he was in the white Cadillac. That he procured the firearm that. ultimately killed two box. So in 2017, Dwayne Davis decides to go. public. He's approached by the producers. of a show called Death Row Chronicles. that appears on BET. 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 Tok. And when he says he's the only person. that can tell what happened, he's right. Because by 2017, Terrence Brown is. deceased. DeAndre Smith is deceased. Orlando baby Lane Anderson is deceased.

Remarkably, in 2019, Dwayne Davis then. decides he's going to publish his own. book. And with regards to the book, it is. certainly a lot of self argrandisement. But again, the core remains he w he was. mad about Orlando Anderson beating I. mean about uh the beating of Orlando. Anderson, his nephew. He was in Las Vegas. He got the gun. He.

was in the white cabinet and he handed. the gun to the sh. >> But remember when I said the defense. Yeah. The defense wasn't having any of. this. No, they came out swinging. They. went after the investigation itself, questioning the evidence, accusing law. enforcement of everything from outright. incompetence to maybe even deception. And here's defense attorney Michael Sam. laying it all out. >> LAPD reached out to him, called them up. and hey, Detective Long, we have the gun. and we tested it and it matches back to. what you're looking for in terms of the.

weapon that killed Tupac Shakur. Detective Wong goes to LAPD, gets the gun, transports it back, gets. it tested, and it comes out as not a. match. LAPD tells him after, "We gave you a. fake gun to test you out." What you will. also learn is out of all those people in. that room, not one person verifies what. TPB tells them. that the FBI, the gold standard of.

investigation in our country, did not go. out and follow up on what was said. Why. not? Because the FBI just fell asleep. That the LAPD just didn't care. He 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 have. by women.

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. is. because they just didn't care about. Tupac Shakur or his life or is because. they looked into it and realized we.

can't verify this information. We don't. believe this to be true. What you're. going to hear from witnesses that will. testify to this is that Kiki was known. to do this. Otherwise, it's just that. And at the end of all the time we spent. together, what you're going to find is. is that the state cannot prove to you. beyond reason of doubt the claim that TV. was had anything to do with a. first-degree murder with use of deadly. weapons. There's no facts to that matter.

>> Essentially, how do you know anything. he's saying is true? How do you know? Did you double check it? Did you verify. any of the information? Was he just. making everything up? You can't believe. him. So, let's get into the witness. testimony. And look, the first. responders were on the scene apparently. within minutes. And one of them actually. spoke to Tupac Shakur while he was still. alive. And this is officer Gary Dale of. the Las Vegas Metro PD took the stand. and shared this haunting but very.

important exchange. >> Are you able to have any sort of. communication with Mr. >> He was still uh talking and I was trying. to I was trying to uh convince him to. tell me the name of whoever his asalants. were. >> And did he ever respond? >> Yes, he responded uh no we we'll take. care of it. So something like that. Argument being, he knew who shot him, right? This wasn't some complete. stranger. But it wasn't just. eyewitnesses and first responders. Now, the FBI had apparently been watching.

Davis, and Special Agent Wade Lee. interviewed him back in the '9s. This. was long before anyone was talking about. an arrest. And according to Lee's. testimony, Davis was telling the FBI. that Death Row Records was essentially. built on drug money, seemingly. corroborating that it was more than just. a record label. But then came the. questions about Tupac Shakur. And here. is what Lee claims Davis told him in. this 1998 interview. >> Um, do you confront him about.

Mr. Anderson, the attack and him being. upset. uh about that particular attack? Well, I. mean, we asked um we asked him about. that about the whole escalation of. incidents uh because of the gang. activity, the incident at the mall, then. at the MGM Grand. Uh then obviously the. shooting of Tupac and things of that. nature. Uh Mr. Davis said that Davis and. Anderson were upset after the casino. attack on Anderson, but they weren't.

going to strike back with so many police. officers around that they would have. struck back once they returned to. Compton. So, he indicates to you that he's angry. enough to do it. It's just he planned on. doing it back in Compton, which uh. instead of in Las Vegas. >> Yeah, they were. Apparently, it was. because of police presence in the area, something of that nature. >> According to Lee, Davis admitted he was. angry enough to retaliate, but claimed.

he didn't want to do it in Vegas. Now, the FBI wasn't the only law enforcement. agency keeping tabs on Davis. No. LAPD. detective Darren DRI sat down with him, too. And what Davis said during that. interview would end up being some of the. most damning statements, testimony of. this entire trial because Davis didn't. just talk about Tupac. He brought him up. completely unprompted. And during the. course of that, do you ask Mr. Davis. about his involvement in the Biggie.

Smalls murder? Yes. >> And what is his response? >> At that time he said no, we didn't have. anything to do with that one. >> When he said we didn't have anything to. do with that one, did that trigger. anything in your mind as to what he was. saying? >> What I recall? Yes. We were like that. one? What do you mean?

And then what was it? >> We did the other one. >> He said we did the other one. >> And so at that point, what did you think. he was talking about? Um. me personally, the only other one was. Tupac, but we had nothing. We didn't think he. was We were talking about Christopher. Wallace. We didn't ask him any questions about. Tupac. He offered that on his own.

>> And so when he does that, is there some. discussion then of. maybe having a conversation about Tupac? It was a surprise to us. Number one, we. were shook. We were we we were. surprised. Um. yes, Mr. Davis stated that his nephew, Mr. Orlando Anderson was jumped and beat up. in a club or in a hotel in Las Vegas.

after the Tyson fight. He came and told Mr. Davis what. happened. Um. they went looking for Tupac, Suge, anybody who was involved basically in. the beat down of Mr. Anderson. And. basically Mr. Mr. Davis had the gun at. first, but they came up on the passenger side. of.

Suge Knight and Mr. Shakura's vehicle, so he couldn't shoot across the driver. So, he handed a gun to Dre in the back. seat, M. Andre Smith. He was afraid to. shoot. Mr. Anderson grabbed the gun and. shot across Mr. Smith into Mr. Knight's. car that Mr. Tupac Shakur was in. witnessed the night. >> And did he tell you what kind of vehicle. he was in the white Cadillac? Did he.

tell you what kind of gun was used? A 40. cal. >> Now, I got to say this. There was always. another question hanging over this. trial, the conspiracy theories. Right. For years, people have speculated that. someone else was behind Tupac's killing, maybe even someone inside Death Row. Records. Now, the defense tried to maybe. focus on that a little bit, right? Poke. at that. So, the prosecution called a. man who knew the inner workings of Death. Row, maybe better than anyone. And this. is former Death Row security chief Mob. James. Here's what he had to say about. those theories.

>> Did it appear to you in any way that. Reggie Right 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. >> His father was impregated 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 has 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 death. row is over with. Tupac was the the money source. Tupac. was was that guy at death row. So, it's.

Reggie would have had a problem if he. would have did that. And Su I I truly. believe SH would have opened his mouth. if Reggie betrayed him like that. Then. it came time for cross-examination and. it got even more intense. So intense. actually that McDonald even had words. for Kefi D. Take a listen. >> Um, was there Can you describe that for us. when you went back in terms of what kind. of tension we're talking about?

>> You sure you want me to answer that? >> Um, >> is it going to be graphic? >> No, I ain't going. I I got to raise the. wording it, but you asking me a question. 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 The next question I'm. asking you is when you went back to. Compton, was it like a a Southside Crip.

shoots a pyro blood and then a Pyro. Blood shoots a Southside Crip? Is that. the tension that we're talking about? >> Do I answer this? >> That's a straightforward question. It'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 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. >> 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, sir? 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 we 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 Lo, 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? >> You 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. >> No, 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 I'm not going to explain that. I I. can't I can't answer that. >> Then the prosecution called Reggie. Wright Jr., head of security for Death. Row Records. And he is an important. witness because his testimony would. establish protocols and escalating. tensions, but most importantly, seemingly what you can argue to be a. security failure, a lapse that left.

Tupac vulnerable that night. Now, Kefi D. has publicly accused Wright of. orchestrating the murder, being a part. of it. Part of the theory being that. Wright deliberately left Tupac. vulnerable. But Wright's testimony tells. a completely different story. And by the. way, he's never been uh implicated or. criminally charged. He says that the. security was actually increased before. the shooting because after the song Hit. Up dropped, apparently tensions were. very high and there was a belief that. Tupac's life was at risk.

>> After this particular song came out. about May or June, we updated the two. security officers. Now, you mentioned a. particular song came out that changed. how you handled Tupac Shak 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 two buck or increase it. >> Well, I was a part of the discussion and. ultimately had to prove it, but I'm sure. Mr. Knight and possibly Mr. Shakur and. maybe the security officer that was. primarily with him, we all agreed that. he probably need another guy with him. >> Now, 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. was blindsided. And then you have the. infamous, by the way, the MGM security. footage, right? Appears to show Tupac, Suge, others attacking Orlando Anderson. Keid has said that his nephew was. humiliated. So that's what sparked the. shooting. But when the fight was brought. up at Suge's probation hearing, Anderson. actually testified that Suge was trying. to stop the fight. And according to. Wright, Anderson was paid a stack of.

cash to essentially lie under oath. Now, we know that during this period, tensions between rival music labels and. opposing gangs were at an all-time high. Security protection became top. priorities. But in a twist of fate, one. of the bodyguards apparently called out. from work the night that Tupac was shot. and killed. And when it came time for. cross-examination, the defense pointed. out that it wasn't just their client who. could potentially profit from talking. about this case, that it could be right,

too. And Wright's credibility was also. 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, this was. Suge's essentially head of security. So, the defense even went as far as to. suggest that Wright's absence might not. have been accidental. So Suge Knight is. in Las Vegas. and you were with him every single day. and in September of 1996. he just happened to get into this spray. and next thing 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 death 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. night about 70 to. 80% of his life. So I guess a lot of 20%. I wasn't with him. >> So in the most important time of show. tonight's life having your protection. you weren't there for. >> Unfortunately not. That's correct. >> Now one of the more unexpected witnesses. to take the stand wasn't a detective an. eyewitness even someone who knew Tupac.

He was a documentary filmmaker Michael. Dorsey. So, he worked on Death Row. Chronicles, the show that Kefi D agreed. to sit down with back in 2017. And. Dorsey was hired to listen in on Davis's. interviews, apparently from a separate. room to kind of verify that Davis was. telling the truth. But Dorsey didn't. just listen. There was a recording of. everything. And this included, apparently, conversations between Davis. and his attorney who he brought along. And when Dorsey took the stand first. outside the presence of the jury for the.

judge to make a key ruling on some. evidence, the defense went after. regarding a secret recording, what they. claim was a secret recording that he. took during the filming. And the. prosecutor actually objected to the. defense's line of questioning. And after. the judge made the ruling that attorney. client privilege didn't apply because. Davis was in a recording studio, had. signed a release, the jury was brought. back in. And when cross-examination. continued, let me just tell you, things. got quite contentious. >> Did you verify any of the information.

that he gave you? >> What do you mean? >> Well, the information that you learned. in this case, right? >> Who gave me? >> Well, the information that you learned. from either the listing of the 2008. proper or in the interview with Mr. Davis, did you go out and conduct your. own investigation to verify the. information? >> Sure. I went through well again I had. unfettered access to the case files and. there's lots of corroborating evidence. in those case files. >> Now when you say the case files and I. want to make sure I'm clear here. >> Sure. >> You're talking about u Greg Kading.

>> Yes. >> And you're talking about Greg Kading who. was former LAPD. >> Well I'm not just talking about Greg. Kading. I'm talking about every. detective that came. >> I am. You're trying to phrase it in a. certain way. Not just Greg Kading. It's. not just his files. In fact majority of. them are from detectives that came. before him. including Las Vegas police files. Once. again, you got to understand uh Greg. Kading was not responsible for the uh. investigation of the Tupac murder. >> Correct. >> He was part of the. uh task force specifically for the Figgy.

Smalls murder. >> That's correct. >> And you are aware at some point he's. removed from that task force, right? >> Uh yes. >> The defense kept pressing Dorsy. There. was even one point where there was an. accusation that former LAPD detective. Greg Kading stole the Tupac file, but. Dorsey wasn't having any of it. >> And one of the things he does is he. steals the Tupac file. >> I object to the word steal. >> I'm sorry. He borrows. >> I just I mean, I'm not I don't mean like. a legal sense. I object. This is a.

person I object to. >> I'm not raing an objection. I I I take. issue with the word steel. Any detective. can take case files with them when they. leave the department. It happens all the. time. It's extremely common. In fact, I. just did a a series on Ted Bundy last. year based on the same exact thing. One. of the lead detectives on the Bundy case. in the 70s, took a box of files with him. and we were able to obtain those files. and we made a show about Ted Bundy based. on his files. >> Are you a detective, sir? >> No. >> So, you can't sit here and tell us what.

a detective can and cannot do. Fair. You're not a detective. >> Like legally, I can't say that. I can. say based on my experience as a true. crime producer for the past 20 years, it's very common in my line of work to. come across files that detectives have. taken hold of. >> I don't recall what the book said. specifically. >> All right. So, if you would turn with. me, I think to that book right there, page 96 with looking at page 96 of the. book that you read your recollection. >> The page numbers might be different here. because this is the Kindle version, but.

let me see. >> Can you just wait until I'm done with my. question, sir? >> Can you stop saying that to him, man? Jeez, dude. Just having a normal. conversation with you. You don't have to. keep cutting me off and making me sound. like I'm eager. >> Now, the final prosecution witness was. Robert Lad, a retired Compton gang. detective with 32 years on the job. And. his testimony was some of the most. damaging for the defense because Lad. knew the Southside Compton Crips. intimately and he apparently knew Dwayne. Kei D. Davis. you know, in his later. years after he became a leader, whenever.

I'd see him, he'd be nicely dressed, um, have the brim hat on, and he wouldn't. have anything gangster like on. He was. always welldressed. >> All right. So, you're saying that, uh, Mr. Davis was a shot caller within the. Southside Content Corps. >> Absolutely. Yes. >> And what does that mean? Well, he could tell the younger. gangsters what to do and if they don't. listen, like I just said, there's going. to be severe consequences. And Lad also.

testified about the Lakewood Mall. incident. So, this was the fight where. Orlando Anderson and others allegedly. jumped a member of Sugge Knight's. entourage. And Lad, by the way, wasn't. there, but as a gang expert, he. explained the significance of that. event. It was a highly prized. medallion and these guys wore it like a. badge of honor. So then try to steal. this chain and and beat up this subject. It would be major display of disrespect.

So now this guy's got to go back to the. Mob Pyru and Death Row Records and tell. them what happened. So the next time. they see each other, it's going to be. on. He told me that they thought the. Southside Crips were responsible for the. shooting. >> And so when he's telling you this, um, do you now have to have a response to. this or why is he telling you. specifically to get ready? Because when you disrespect and shoot.

the biggest rap mogul on the planet and. the biggest rap star on the planet and. he surrounds himself with the mob Pyu, then there's going to be some sort of. retaliation. right after the first. shooting of Darnell Brim. To me, there. was no doubt in my mind that the. Southside Crips were responsible because. the M Pyru had to retaliate and they had. 54 other gangs to choose from, but they. went right after the Southside Crips. So, there's no doubt in mind he was.

responsible for shooting um Tupac and. Sug. In fact, in gang cases in. particular where witnesses are scared to. come out is a defendant's admission of. committing a murder, powerful evidence. used to prosecute. >> Yeah, that's that's a basically that's. how most of our gang crimes get solved. is by self admission or incrimination. Then it was the defense's turn and they. put three witnesses on the stand, all. aimed basically at one thing. Cracking. the prosecution's timeline, floating the.

idea that maybe there was a different. white Cadillac out there that night. That also you can't believe Dwayne Kei. D. Davis. So poking holes in the. investigation. Now the fa Now I will say. I feel like the defense saved their. biggest name for last. Maybe arguably. the most important witness, Dan Long, a. former LVMPD detective who took over the. Tupac investigation in 2004. And what he. had to say carried serious weight. because Long was in the gang unit the. night of the shooting. He heard the. gunfire rushed over. But the real.

bombshell came years later, 2009, when. he sat down face tof face with Kefi D. But Long's testimony was a little bit. more complicated than simply catching. Davis in a lie. No. Davis did give. investigators an account of the. shooting, identified the same four men. investigators believed were in the. Cadillac. Long also said he couldn't verify. several important details and that. included hospital treatment that Davis. said Orlando Anderson received and and. Long actually wasn't able to establish. that Davis was in the Cadillac. But. still, he testified that he believed.

there was enough probable cause to seek. Davis's arrest. During the interview, uh. Mr. Davis indicated first that Orlando. Anderson or Baby Lane had been beat up. at the MGM which we all had video of. I. think everybody on the planet has seen. this video. Uh he was the complaining. that his arm was either broken or out of. socket. He first told me that uh they. had gone back to California and had gone.

to the hospital in California. But he. said they went to the hospital on. Maryland Parkway and the hospital on. Maryland Parkway is Sunrise and that he. had gotten a sling for his own. So I. filled out a subpoena and I wanted to. know if Orlando had signed in, was. examined. in any fashion. And now we're talking, this is 2009, we're talking about.

somebody coming into the emergency room. in 1996. So, uh, I I didn't find anything. Uh, they couldn't apply. They couldn't give. me anything with Orlando's name on it. >> Now, under cross-examination, Long made this admission. And you know uh or at least you believe. you'd agree with me that Mr. Davis was a. suspect in your homicide, not a witness. >> Yes, sir. And by the end of that.

interview, what is your intent? >> My intent was to drive back to Las. Vegas, type up a warrant for an arrest, clear. it with the district attorney, and have. Mr. Dave was arrested for murder. >> So after weeks of testimony, it all came. down to this closing arguments. Both. sides had one last chance to convince. the jury. Prosecutor Binu Pal started by. going after the defense's central.

argument headon that Davis's story. needed to be corroborated to be. believed. Told the jury that's not the. law. >> One thing I think is very important to. discuss is in opening statements, Mr. Samp told you that you have to. corroborate every word of the. defendant's sentence in order to believe. it. I think he even had a word a slide. up there that said, I mean, not. nonsense, but BS, I guess, right? BS. Uh, jury instruction number 42 tells you.

what the law is. When independent. evidence establishes that the victim's. death was caused by the criminal agency. of another, a defendant's own statement, if admitting a crime need not be further. corroborated by evidence connecting the. defendant to the crime is absolutely. untrue and not part of our requirements. And then this was key because Pala. walked the jury through details that. Davis apparently revealed that only. someone who was there that night in that. car at that shooting would know,

including one specific detail that had. never been made public at that time. >> He provides a detail that is not. publicly available. Right. The seab with. the women following it. I'm not going to pretend that this case. wasn't reported on in the previous years. between 1996 and 2008. The caliber of firearm was in the. papers. I bet you it's even in Mr. Davis. Um the fact that a white Cadillac.

was involved absolutely well known. What. was not well known, what was never. publicized by 2008. was the severing with the women. following. So, where does he get that detail? And. what's fascinating about it again is. Ingred's not following it. It just looks. like that from the perspective of. somebody in the white cat line. And the other thing uh about the 2008. proper is where Mr. Davis pushes back.

He's not just saying yes, yes, yes. He's he suggested lane in the van, too. He corrected. No, he's in the Cadillac. He suggested Orlando's behind the. driver. There was confusion about where. everybody's sat and Mr. Davis says no. mando is behind me. And then there's. this whole exchange about what they did. with the gun. Like and uh Mr. D like we. left the gun on the tire of the Cadillac. and the officers just don't believe him.

Like that makes no sense at all. You got. this gun used in a murder. Why would you. put that on a tire? That doesn't make. any sense at all. And Mr. Davis's. attorney, Wayne Higgins, says, "I mean, you guys aren't thinking like folks from. Compton. You guys are thinking like. cops." And then what Mr. Davis says is, "You want the truth or you want me to. lie?" Because the truth is that's where. the gun was. Lastly, Mr. Davis's. statement makes no sense as a lie. The. 2008 statement makes no sense as a lie. He could have said he was just a. witness. So, if the notion is Mr. Davis.

is creating this whole story. Why would. he create the story that makes him. legally liable for murder when he could. just make himself a witness? >> Then it was the defense's turn and. Michael Samp went straight at the. prosecution's evidence or what he said. lack of it. >> What proof do you have beyond reason? >> Now the things that we would look for. would be in the MGM surveillance. anything in there that would they would. spot a person that looks like Mr. Davis.

in a in a suit walking through the MGM. How about paperwork, receipts, things. that would indicate that, hey, I bought. some stuff here in Las Vegas. You know, something along those lines. How about. uh phone records? Anything with regards. to Mr. Davis uh phone records to his. home for maybe his his uh his cell phone. or maybe just a phone in the in the. hotel room because we're talking about. 1996. How about photographs? According. to the testimony that you heard, this. was found to sh Knight at his home. This.

is uh what Detective Glatt said that. this was uh obtained at Shnight's house. This is a ticket stub for the Seldon. versus Tyson fight for September 7th, 1996. Why would he have this ticket? Because it's important. It's an event, right? You go to the fight. You know. where you don't find any evidence of. this? In that guy's house. All right? something as important as. this or something as memor memorable as. this, we don't find it there. Another. search is done of one of the places that.

Mr. Davis stayed. And in that place when. he went in there, they're looking for. information. It's uh of course for uh. another uh investigation, but ultimately. at the end of the day, they're still. wondering who if maybe Mr. Davis was. involved uh with the Tupac murder. And. this is what they find in the receipts. And this was as of. this would be the 27th of May 1997. So a. year later they find the following money. due bill.

uh for the Monte Carlo Casino. Right. This is what they have. This is what. they do. How does that help you? It. doesn't. And Sam then turned to another piece of. evidence he says makes no sense. If. Orlando Anderson was the shooter, why. would Suge Knight have paid him money? >> Well, with Orlando Anderson, he sues. Tupac's estate for injuries. What do you. do? Why do you do that? Why do you get. involved in a lawsuit if you're the guy. who's the shooter and commit the crime?

Why would you do that? And then we heard. testimony that Shook Knight and Death. Row Records pays him money. Why would. you do that? You're Shook Knight. You're. in the car. You nearly missed death. And. now you pay this guy money, this very fearsome man, Shook Knight, who is the type of person that allegedly. even held vanilla ice over a balcony, right, to get the rights of something or. another, pays this guy money. This.

powerful man of a $300 million company. pays this guy money. How does that work? Now, this is where the common sense comes. into play, doesn't it? Shooting of Shai, murder of Tupac, and no retaliation. Tell me how that makes sense. >> He then turned to the book that Davis. wrote. >> They find the book, right? So, they the. book is in the evidence and you'll have. an opportunity to go through the book. But you know what's interesting about.

book as well is the part that we talked. about. This is in the book. Although the. authors and publisher have made every. effort to ensure the accuracy and. completeness of the information. contained in this book, we assume no. responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any inconsistency here. Why is that important? When's the last. time a book had that language in there? Typically, something like this would be. if uh it's a historical sort of fiction, right? Why is that important? Because.

Keith, he never saw this book, never. read it, never reviewed it. So when he. holds it up and he tells people like, "Go buy the book." What's he trying to. tell you? Go buy a book that's not. verified. I don't know anything about, but I'm here to make money off of this. book. So use your common sense. I might. feel this way, but there's no proof. beyond reasonable doubt that Mr. Davis. committed any crime in this case, let. alone murder of two pucks. So if you keep asking yourself the. question, you just keep lying over and.

over again, you keep telling the. fiction, does that change it into a. fact? No. You have to have supporting. facts in order for a fiction to become a. fact. >> Okay. So after weeks of testimony, then. it went to the jury and they reached a. decision. District Court, Clark County, Nevada, state Nevada versus Dwayne Keith Davis. Case number C23377407-1, Department 2. The verdict reads as. follows. We, the jury in the above. entitled case, find the defendant Dwayne.

Keith Davis as follows. Count one, murder with use of a deadly weapon. Guilty of first-degree murder with use. of a deadly weapon dated this 31st date. of August, 2026. >> There you go. Dwayne Davis now faces a. possible sentence of life in prison with. sentencing scheduled for October 2026. It'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 should get your. podcast. You can also check us out on. NBC's Peacock as well. If you want to. follow me, ex Instagram, my NewsNation.

show, Jesse Weber Live, Monday through. Friday, 11 pm Eastern. See you next. time, everybody.