A newly released witness list in the murder case against Duane “Keffe D” Davis reveals that prosecutors plan to call Tupac Shakur manager Marion “Suge” Knight, and nearly 200 other witnesses, when the rapper’s long‑delayed homicide trial finally begins next week.
This is a surprise development because Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records, previously stated that he would not testify — telling TMZ in 2023, “1000% I wouldn’t go.”
Knight is currently serving a 28‑year sentence in California for a 2015 fatal hit‑and‑run. He could testify either live or remotely. (Remote testimony is permitted under Nevada law when witnesses face logistical or safety barriers, though judges must approve each request.)
The first trial in the 28‑year‑old case will begin Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. Davis — in police custody since his September 2023 arrest — said in a jail interview with KLAS-TV/Las Vegas last week that he will not agree to a plea deal.
“I heard it was like some 10 and 25,” he told the TV station. “I’m not going to take a deal like that… I had a cancer battle, and I got three stents to my heart, and the average American lives like 74 years old … Ten years, I’m dead.”
The Murder
Shakur was shot on Sept. 7, 1996 while riding in a BMW driven by Knight, the co-founder of Death Row Records. The attack occurred at the intersection of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane in Las Vegas. Shakur died six days later at University Medical Center.
Knight is the only surviving eyewitness besides Davis, according to prosecutors, though Davis told KLAS “I wasn’t in Nevada, period” at the time.
The killing, which shook the music world to its core, remained unsolved for decades until Davis — long known to investigators as a self‑described witness to the shooting — was arrested at his home in Henderson, Nev. nearly three years ago. He is charged with orchestrating the attack, not firing the murder weapon, though Nevada law treats both offenses as murder.
Other High‑Profile Witnesses
The state’s 11‑page witness list includes nearly 200 names, ranging from expert witnesses to public officials. Among those listed:
- Oscar Goodman: the former Las Vegas mayor and longtime criminal defense attorney
- Joe Lombardo: Nevada’s current governor was, at the time of Shakur’s murder, a sergeant in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
- Yusuf Jah: Davis’ co‑author on Compton Street Legend, a 2019 book in which Davis claimed to be riding in the front passenger seat of the white Cadillac that fired on the black BMW 750iL containing Shakur and Knight, who was driving. (Davis claimed someone in the back seat fired the shots.)
- “Members of Shakur’s family”: prosecutors have not disclosed which ones
The witness list underscores the sweeping scope of the prosecution’s case, which spans decades of gang history, prior written and spoken statements made by Davis, and the events leading up to the shooting.
Corey Levitan
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