LAS VEGAS (AP) 鈥� Duane 鈥淜effe D鈥� Davis is the last living suspect in one of hip-hop's most enduring mysteries 鈥� the 1996 killing of rap icon in Las Vegas.
Davis, 60, is of orchestrating the drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip that also wounded rap music mogul Marion 鈥淪uge鈥� Knight. Davis was 鈥� more than two months after police outside Las Vegas. He remains jailed on a murder charge and is Oct. 19.
On the night of Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur was in the passenger seat of a black BMW that Knight was driving when a white Cadillac pulled up on their right side and gunfire erupted. Knight was wounded but survived. Shakur died a week later at the age of 25.
Police and prosecutors say the shooting stemmed from for dominance in a musical genre that pitted East Coast members of a Bloods gang sect against West Coast members of a Crips sect that Davis has said he led in Compton, California.
That night, three others were with Davis in the Cadillac, but none of them faced charges in Shakur's killing before they died.
Here's what we know about who was in both vehicles from authorities, court records, grand jury testimony, interviews and Davis' 2019 tell-all memoir, 鈥淐ompton Street Legend."
Tupac Shakur
Shakur is considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. He had , was and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. He received this year on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is the subject of a Los Angeles , 鈥淭upac Shakur. Wake Me When I鈥檓 Free.鈥�
His death came as his fourth solo album, 鈥淎ll Eyez on Me,鈥� remained on the charts, with some 5 million copies sold. He also used the stage names 2Pac and Makaveli. As an actor, he starred in several films.
Shakur was born Lesane Parish Crooks in New York in 1971, and his name was changed a year later. His late mother Afeni Shakur, and late stepfather Mutulu Shakur, were active in the Black Panther Party in New York. Tupac Shakur was not close with his biological father, William 鈥淏illy鈥� Garland.
Two of the rapper's siblings, Sekyiwa 鈥淪et鈥� Shakur and Mopreme Shakur, have criticized authorities for inaction and slowness in charging anyone with their brother鈥檚 death before now.
Marion 鈥淪uge鈥� Knight
Knight founded Death Row Records, a Los Angeles-based music label that represented Shakur at the time of his death. Knight's moniker was shortened from 鈥淪ugar Bear,鈥� his nickname growing up in Compton.
Knight and Shakur were headed to a nightclub when their car near the Las Vegas Strip. Knight was grazed by a bullet or shrapnel.
Now 58, Knight is serving a 28-year prison sentence in California for running over and outside a burger stand in January 2015. The case capped the former rap music mogul鈥檚 downfall from his heyday as one of the biggest 鈥� and most feared 鈥� names in the music industry.
Davis said he and Knight knew each other growing up and even played on the same youth football team in Compton. Knight went on to play college football at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Briefly, during the 1987 NFL players鈥� strike, he was a replacement player for the Los Angeles Rams.
In his memoir, Davis describes Knight and himself as the 鈥渙nly living eyewitnesses to what truly happened.鈥�
Orlando 鈥淏aby Lane鈥� Anderson
Law enforcement authorities long suspected that Anderson was the gunman. He was 22 at the time. Though Davis was his uncle and 12 years older, he described their relationship as that of brothers, friends and even father-son.
Shortly before the drive-by shooting, Anderson was beaten in a brawl at the MGM Grand casino involving Shakur and associates, including Knight. Authorities, authors and Davis himself say the shooting was an act of retaliation for beating up Anderson.
鈥淭hem jumping on my nephew gave us the ultimate green light to do something," Davis writes in his book.
Davis said he obtained a handgun from an associate and tossed it into the back seat of the Cadillac but did not say who fired the fatal shots. Anderson was sitting in the backseat of the car, behind his uncle.
Neither the Cadillac nor the gun used in the shooting were recovered, according to retired Las Vegas police Detective Clifford Mogg, who was assigned to the investigation in early 2018.
鈥淲e were never able to identify the person who rented the car, where it was rented from, and then when it comes to the gun, we have never recovered as of this date, the weapon that was used in the murder," Mogg said in testimony to the grand jury.
Anderson, who denied involvement in Shakur鈥檚 killing, died two years later in what police said was an unrelated shooting at a Compton car wash.
Deandrae 鈥淔reaky鈥� Smith
Also known as 鈥淏ig Dre,鈥� Smith was in the back seat of the car that night, sitting next to Anderson.
Although authorities have said they believe Anderson pulled the trigger, the grand jury testimony challenged that theory.
Denvonta Lee, a former associate of Davis, told the grand jury that it was Smith who shot Shakur and Knight. He said Anderson tried reaching over Smith but didn't have a 鈥渃lear shot鈥� out the left-rear passenger window.
The former associate, who wasn't in the car but recounted a conversation he had with Smith days after the shooting, said Smith took the gun from Anderson, opened fire and let Anderson take credit for Shakur's death.
Smith was 30 when he died in 2004 of natural causes, according to the Los Angeles County coroner鈥檚 office.
Terry 鈥淏ubble Up鈥� Brown
Brown was driving the Cadillac from which the shots were fired.
Davis said in his memoir that they were driving toward Las Vegas Boulevard that night but spotted Shakur 鈥渉anging out of the window鈥� of the BMW and waving to fans. Davis told Brown to make a U-turn, and they drove slowly past the rapper's convoy until Davis said they 鈥渇ound who we were seeking.鈥�
Brown died in a 2015 shooting at a medical marijuana dispensary in Compton.
The Los Angeles County coroner鈥檚 office said his full name was Terry Tyrone Brown, although Brown has been referred to as both 鈥淭errence鈥� and "Terrance" in investigative records. The coroner鈥檚 office declined to release more information, citing a security hold on the case.
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Associated Press writer Ken Ritter in Las Vegas contributed.
Rio Yamat, The Associated Press
