Tupac Shakur murder trial opening statements set to begin Monday

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Nearly three decades after the killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur, the panel of 12 jurors and four alternates is now seated. And opening statements are set for Monday. In the murder trial of ex-gang leader Dwayne Keefe D. Davis, prosecutors allege that Davis, the only person ever charged in connection with Shakur's 1996 killing, orchestrated the deadly drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip in retaliation for an attack by the rapper and his entourage against Davis' nephew Orlando Anderson. Now, Davis denies the charges and has pleaded not guilty. The trial is expected to last four to five weeks. So let's bring in ABC News legal contributor and criminal defense attorney Bernardo Villalona for more. Bernardo, listen, here we go. Okay, let's go on this trial. Now, prosecutors, they've hinged this entire case on his 2019 memoir, and they say that essentially he set up this entire shooting. Now, the defense says that everything in that book, it's not true. They're saying that he did not direct this shooting. So what can we expect to see on the first day of the trial? [00:00:58] Keefe D. Davis: So what we expect to see tomorrow do in opening statements is the prosecution is going to give a preview. They're going to give a roadmap as to what this case is all about. So absolutely, they're going to talk about that fatal day in September of 1996. They're going to give some information as to who Tupac was and his legacy. They're also going to give information. You're going to hear about Suge Knight, of course. You're going to hear about the actual shooting, but you're also going to hear a timeline of all these statements that Keefe D. Davis has given, even the most crucial one, the one where he gave during the proffer agreement, where at that point he admitted to being a part of this fatal shooting. You're also going to hear a timeline of all the various statements that he has given, in addition to, most importantly, that book, that self-proclaimed memoir that Keefe D. wrote. Now, on the flip side, the defense, I'm curious to see what the defense is going to say. The defense doesn't have to give an opening statement, but if they do give an opening statement, I want to know whether they're going to allege a defense such as an alibi. I want to know whether they're going to say that the memoir in every interview that Keefe D. has given is a lie, that they were only giving those interviews in order to make money, Keefe D. was. Or are they going to go with the plain, generic opening statement where it's like the prosecution waited 30 years, Keefe D. didn't do the shooting, and they're not going to be able to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt? Because let's be clear, the prosecution does have some issues in terms of they no longer have the car, they never recovered the firearm, they don't have any live eyewitnesses actually putting the gun on someone, and Keefe D. is not the one who actually had the gun in his hand. Instead, he's alleged to have passed the gun to someone in the back that ultimately fired and killed Tupac. [00:02:43] Speaker 1: Now, you said it yourself, the prosecution here, they're going to present so many forms of interviews, a lot of the times his own words. You mentioned part of that, the interview he gave in 2009 to federal investigators, that proffer agreement, they're expecting to use parts of that interview. So how damaging are Keefe D.'s own words in this case? [00:03:00] Keefe D. Davis: Oh, my God. So, you know, I feel like I have to do from rush hour. Remember when Chris Tucker was like, do you hear the words coming out of my mouth? That is exactly what's going to happen in this case. Keefe D. Davis dug himself his own hole. If it weren't for his self-proclaimed interviews and his admissions and his statements, we wouldn't be here today. Because to be clear, the prosecution's case is built on all of these statements. And of course, you know, you have the memoir. And there have been rumblings for years about who's actually involved. But for the prosecution, it's not about what you know, it's about what you can prove. And even though they knew in 2008 he was involved, they needed more information and more evidence to, number one, corroborate it, but also to be able to take themselves out of that proffer agreement and to be able to use that against him. So here we have it. Keefe D., because of you opening up your mouth, yapping and trying to get some stardom or some money or some clicks, here you go now facing trial. [00:04:04] Speaker 1: Now, I want to talk about Keefe D. opening up his mouth because the defense may use something that he said in his memoir, hopefully as a strategy. If you remember in that memoir, there's a point right before the shooting of Tupac where Keefe D. said that he saw Tupac reach for a gun and essentially pointed at them first. Obviously, these are Keefe D.'s words. Do you think the defense is going to look at that and say, listen, self-defense right there, this is where this is all coming from. Could that be a possible strategy? [00:04:30] Keefe D. Davis: So this is exactly why I want to see what the opening statement is going to be of the defense, because are you going to go alibi or are you going to go self-defense or are you going with these are all lies? So in terms of whether he goes that it's possibly self-defense, two issues with that. Number one, when emergency responders responded to the vehicle that Tupac was in, there was no gun inside of that vehicle. So if you're going to let self-defense and you're using a deadly weapon to protect yourself from imminent or serious bodily injury, then there has to be some reasonable basis for that. That's number one. Number two, if you're going to let self-defense, guess what? You're going to have to get up on that stand and tell the jury. And the issue is, is that he's given so much statements. One, number two, he has a criminal record. So we don't know what the judge has ruled in terms of if he were to testify, how much this jury can learn about that criminal record, especially one where he's assaulting another prisoner in jail. And he actually got convicted after a trial of that and is serving a sentence. [00:05:31] Speaker 1: All right. A lot of stuff to see. I know we'll be on it together. All right. Yes. For none of you, I want to thank you.