Day Two | The Trial of Keffe D: Who Killed Tupac?

0:19 Hey, everyone, welcome back to Exposed Scandalous Files of the Elite. I'm your host, Jim Chapman, and we are back with the second day of testimony in the trial of Dwayne keV. D Davis or the murder of Tupac Shakur. And of course he is charged with orchestrating that murder, not actually pulling the trigger. If you hadn't caught day one, go catch it so you can be caught up and on track. And we're going to dive in with the first witness called in the second day of testimony. This is the fifth witness to take the stand in this trial. It was a man by the name of Thomas Kern. Now Kerrent isn't some high profile detective or flashy investigator. He is a former crime scene analyst who worked for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department way back in nineteen ninety six.

1:14 Today he works for Customs and Border Protection in Chicago as a latent fingerprint examiner. But thirty years ago he was a brand new crime scene analyst, still in his first year on the job. And can you imagine that you get a case like this, the murder of two boxskor as your first year on the job, training right. Kern told the jury that part of his job back then was responding to crime scenes and to collect evidence fingerprints, broken glass, anything y'all that might be useful. He also explained the crime scene analyst would regularly go to the coroner's office during autopsies. Now, their role was to document the body and collect anything that the medical examiner removes, things such as bullet fragments, whatever came out, and that's exactly what he did in this case. Kern testified that he was present at the autopsy of Tupac in September of nineteen ninety six, and he was working alongside his field training officer, a man by the name of David la Master. Prosecutors walked him through a series of photographs from that autopsy, the body bag, the body itself, the tattoos, and the injuries, and Kern would confirm that all those photos accurately showed what was documented that day in nineteen ninety six. Then they wanted to show him something more specific,

2:45 photos of a bullet fragment that was removed from Tupac's body during the autopsy. Now, Kern identified those as authentic, but the most interesting moment came when they pulled out an old evidence envelope. This was the actual package that David Lamaster had filled out and sealed back in nineteen ninety six. Now, Kern, he looks at this package and he basically just confirms that it was la Master's work. He pointed out la Master's personnel number, his initials in the date. Then he noted something important. The seal on the envelope was still intact. In other words, that evidence package had not been opened in nearly thirty years. In that little detail mattered more than you may think. It helped the prosecution establish a chain of custody. It showed the jury that this physical evidence that has been preserved properly since the day it was collected was still intact.

3:50 The defense, they didn't ask Karn a single question, there was no cross examination. He was on and off the stand relatively quickly, and ask why call a witness like this, Well, that's because the prosecution is carefully building the foundation of this case. Before they can talk about the gunshot wounds or the cause of death, they have to prove evidence they're relying on is legitimate, improperly handled. Thomas Kern's job was simply to put the first brick into place, and that is exactly what he did. So right after the crime scene analysts finished up, the prosecution called their next witness.

4:32 And this, y'all, is the sixth witness of this trial, and that is doctor Lisa Gavin. Now, she is a forensic pathologist and medical examiner for Clark County, Nevada, and she's been doing this job for about seventeen years. She's bored certified in both anatomic and forensic pathology. In other words, y'all, this is someone that spends her career determining how and why people die. Now, thing to point right off the top, doctor Gavin was not the original medical examiner who performed Tupac's autopsy back in nineteen ninety six. That doctor doctor Jordan.

5:13 He has since passed away. So she was brought in as an expert basically to review everything he had done, the original autopsy report, the medical records from the hospital, the photographs, the toxicology, all of it, and give the jury her independent opinion based off of these records. And folks, the atmosphere in the courtroom shifted big time when these autopsy photos started coming up on the screen. Some members of Tupac's family understandably got up and walked out. The ones who stayed looked away because these are graphic images, and the prosecution walked her through them carefully. Doctor Gavin then described what each of these photos showed. There was a gunshot wound on the right side of Tupac's chest, just below the armpit. The bullet traveled through his right lung and lodged near the center of his chest, right around the sternal notch if you will, between the collar bones. Now, that shot collapsed the lungs and that caused massive internal bleeding, about two liters of blood into the chest cavity. Doctors had to put in a chest tube and eventually remove the damage lung trying to save Tupac's life. Now, there was another gunshot wound to the right thigh. That bullet traveled upward into the abdomen and damaged his intestines. Surgeons had to remove portions of the intestines during emergency surgery

6:44 for that wound. She also described a wound to the back of his right hand, and that fractured a bone in what appeared to be a non penetrating womb or what you call a deep abrasion on his right flank, and possibly that's from a spent perjectile that had already lost a lot of its energy. And interestingly, there were scars on his body, and that had suggested he had been shot before in his life, she said, but we all know he had been shot before in his life, five times actually in New York. So doctor Gavin was clear. She was direct about her conclusions as far as the cause of death, gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen, and the manner of death, of course, homicide death at the hands of another is how she defined that. She confirmed there were no gunshot wounds to the head. The defense did ask her some careful questions on cross examination.

7:42 They made sure the jury understood that she was relying on thirty year old records and photographs and that she had no personal knowledge of the original autopsy. She agreed to the original records appearing complete, though photography back then, y'all got to remember, it was more limited. There was a lot of polaroids back then, and of course now everything's digital. She also made it clear she wasn't there to critique the original autopsy as far as how it was performed. She was simply reviewing the available materials and forming her own opinion. Now, the jury had a couple of questions for her after the defense wrapped up their cross examination, which I want to talk about that for a second. It's very interesting to me now, being from Louisiana, I've sat in on a good bit of trials. I've never set in on one where the jury was allowed to ask questions after testimonting. Obviously this can happen, and I think it's a great idea, but usually the jury gets brought back to deliberate in questions that they have on evidence. They send notes to the judge. That's all the court hearings I've been in trials, But in this one they do it right there with the person on the stand. So that was pretty interesting. Now, one juror asked if there were any head wounds, and she answered no to that question. Another asked about the caliber of

9:13 the bullets. She said she didn't know. That wasn't something determined from her review of the records. So at that point she's dismissed from the stand. And what did that testimony accomplish? Well, to me, it locked in the medical reality of what happened to Tupac. He didn't die instantly. He was shot multiple times. He had catastrophic internal injuries, He underwent major surgery, including the removal of a lung, and he still held on for six days before dying on September thirteenth, nineteen ninety six. And according to the medical examiner, these gunshot wounds are what killed him. So that is also proof of a homicide. Look, you have to prove it a court, even though it's an obvi thing, right, And that's the foundation the prosecution is building. They're methodically walking the jury through the physical and medical evidence before they go deeper into the who and why. But they'll get there. So after the medical examiner finished up, the prosecution called their seventh witness, Michael Ingram. So he is an investigator for MGM Resorts and his job that day was to walk the jury through old surveillance footage from the MGM Grand on the night of September seventh, nineteen ninety six, the night of the Mike Tyson fight and the brawl that set everything in motion. Now, right out of the gate, Ingram made something very clear, this is

10:45 a thirty year old video. Back then the casino was still recording on what was called VHS tapes, and if you're my age, you know what that is. Those tapes got reused over and over, so the quality is rough. They would basically, you know, record till the VHS tape runs out, then rewind it and start recording again, and faces are kind of hard to make out clearly compared to what you get today with the digital systems that communicate through the cloud. Right. He also explained that the surveillance system used was something called multiplex technology, which means the cameras would cycle or they would flash between different views rather than staying locked on one angle the whole time. And that's important because they do kind of shift back and forth. So prosecutors showed the jury several clips and the map of the MGM Grand layout, and Ingram walked them through the key areas.

11:44 He showed the elevator core, the food court promenade, the main casino floor, and the path that people took after the fight toward the exits in the valet area. Now, one of the more notable moments in the footage was a man wearing a Dan Marino Miami Dolphins jersey number thirteen that individual is widely believed to be Orlando Andersen, which is keethy De's nephew, the one who got jumped earlier that night. Ingram was careful not to identify him by name. He just described what the video showed, a blackmail and a sports jersey who forced his way past security near what's known as the Coyote Cafe. He gets confronted by a large group of people, and shortly after that a fight breaks out. Ingram also described the path that people took after that altercation, exiting the elevator corps, moving across the casino floor, past the Cage and Emerald City and out toward Las Vegas Boulevard and the Tropicana.

12:48 And if you, I'm sure everybody out there has seen that video, you seed Tupac and Shug and several other people kicking and stomping this guy, and then they literally walk through the middle of the casino to exit, and it's like a crowd starts following them. So on cross examination, the defense asked him about his background, and Ingram told the jury he was hired by MGM in twoenty ten. So the point they were getting at was, wait a minute, you weren't even working there in nineteen ninety six when all this went down, and prior to twenty ten. They also brought up that he had no prior law enforcement experience, He didn't write any report on the incident himself, and he wasn't asked to try to identify specific people in the video beyond what was clearly visible. He said, hey, look, my role was to authenticate the footage and explain the locations.

13:45 I didn't have to be there in nineteen ninety six to do that. The jury also had a question for him about where the security officer was standing when they first spotted the man in the jersey, and Ingram pointed it out on the map, and that was basically it for him. And the point of that testimony prosecution starting to show the jury the actual video from that night, the same security footage that captured the fight between Tupac's group and Orlando Anderson inside the MGM, and they're laying out a timeline the fight happens, people leave the casino, and a couple hours later Tupac is shot, and Michael Ingram's job was to put that surveillance video into evidence cleanly and explain what the jury was looking at. Not the most dramatic testimony of the day, but an important piece to create this foundation that they're trying to establish.

14:39 So next up on the stand, the prosecution's witness was Kenneth Rios, and he's the eighth witness in this trial. He's a retired Las Vegas Metro Police sergeant, a guy with twenty eight years in the department, starting way back in nineteen ninety. So on the ninth September seventh, nineteen ninety six, to the Mike Tyson fight, Rios was working uniform patrol at the MGM Grand around nine o'clock that evening. He responded to a fight call in the elevator section at that hotel. When he got there, he made contact with a young man wearing a damn Marino jersey. That's the same individual a lot of people believe was Orlando Anderson, kvd's nephew. Rios told the jury he spoke with the man, got his ID, and he said at that point he treated this guy as if he's the victim of an altercation.

15:32 He asked Orlando Anderson, do you want medical attention? And Orlando Anderson refused. He said no, I'm fine, He told Rios that a couple of guys he didn't know had jumped him, and he also made it clear he did not want to file a police report or press charges. And these are gang bangers, right, They're not going to press charges. They're going to handle things themselves. So Rios releases him, lets him go, and he goes on with now. Later that same night, afterwards spread that hey Tupac Shakur has been shot in Las Vegas. Rios was asked to put together a report on this earlier contact he had with the man in that jersey. He said he wrote the report from memory after the fact, and he remembered the first name of this man as Orlando. On cross examination the defense, they pressed him a bit on when and why that report was written, and Rios was pretty straightforward about it. He said, in a lot of these situations, if the victim doesn't want to cooperate, no formal report gets generated right away. In this case, the report only came later once it became clear this individual might be connected to a bigger incident that happened a couple of hours earlier. Jerry had some questions. One even asked him about the standard procedure after something like this and Rios explained that the officers typically stayed with the person, coordinate with security and other units, and make sure there's no

17:03 medical issues or change of heart about the reporting. At that point he is released from the stand and the point of his testimony takeaway from that. This actually puts a police officer face to face with the man in that number thirteen Jersey, the same man involved in the fight with Tupac's group earlier that night, roughly two hours before the shooting, and it shows that law enforcement had contact with him and that he declined to make a report, and that the interaction was documented once Tupac was shot. It's also a piece of the timeline the prosecution is carefully laying out the fight at the MGM, the people involved in what happened in the hours that followed. So we're going to keep moving on through day two of the KEVD trial. And the next witness who took the stand was the ninth witness overall for the prosecution in his name was William Hydemeyer. Now, back in nineteen ninety six, William worked as a security officer at the Maxim Hotel in Casino, and that's the property that used to sit on the northwest corner of Covial in Flamingo, right near where everything went down that night. Today that location is the location of the Weston Now On the night of September seventh, nineteen ninety six, high Meyer was up on the third floor of the parking garage and he was helping a couple of Metro officers look into some stolen Dodge caravan. They were checking out one of these vehicles

18:36 when out of nowhere they hear gunfire. Hi Meyer described it as three separate volleys of shots, somewhere between three and four shots in each burst, and he estimated he heard anywhere from nine to fifteen rounds total. So as soon as the shooting stopped, he and the officers ran over to a barrier wall that overlooked the Flamingo Boulevard and they looked down and what he saw was a line of vehicles stopped in the left straight lane heading east on Flamingo. There was a white Dodge Stritus up front of black BMW. Right behind it, another dark car which he said could have been Alexis, a white Chevy suburban further back in several more cars following. He said there was roughly ten vehicles in total, and people were standing outside the cars and in the middle of traffic lanes.

19:33 Hid Meyer specifically noticed one man who was armed. He described this man as a young black male, well dressed, bright white three quarter sleeve shirt, black pants, and a black dress vest. The man was holding a semi automatic pistol, but he wasn't firing it. It just looked like he had it pointed off to the side. Kid Meyer said he didn't see anyone else with a gun, and he didn't actually witness the shooting himself. He only heard it and then looked down afterward. So the Metro officers they jump in their car and they take off after this caravan, and Haidemeier pointed them in the right direction. He watched the vehicles make a U turn and head back west on Flamingo toward the Strup. So at that point cross examination takes over and the defense went over the vehicle descriptions with him, and they confirmed that he never saw the actual shooting taking place. He stuck to what he observed after the shots rang out, and at that point they dismissed him, and that testimony mattered because this is one of the closest witnesses to the actual shooting location.

20:40 He puts a caravan of vehicles, including a black BMW, stopped on Flamingo right after a series of gunshots. He describes an armed man standing outside of those vehicles, and he confirms the police immediately took off after the group of cars, So he was a good witness. Now, the next witness that took the and the tenth of this trial was Dean O'Kelly. He's a retired Las Vegas Metro Police officer who later worked cold cases, and he was with the department from nineteen ninety one to twenty twelve. And on the night of September seventh, nineteen ninety six, he was out working with what is known as the Gang Unit around eleven seventeen. That night, he hears what's known as a code red call for shots fired near Flamingo in Coval, right by the Maximum Hotel. He flips on his lights, right, lights and sirens. He's going hot.

21:34 He heads that way and he arrived just a few minutes later. So when he gets to the scene, O'Kelly starts securing the area in the south parking lot and he's looking out into the eastbound lanes of Flamingo, just west of Coval, and he notices something important. Cartridge cases scattered in the roadway. Some of them had already been run over by traffic, some were mangled. He grabbed cones outside of his van and he starts marking and protecting these casings so they don't get destroyed any further. He's trying to save this crime scene evidence. And he said another analyst, a crime scene analyst named dan Ford, was already nearby and took over the collection. They were covered seven spent forty caliber Winchester, Smith and Weston cartridge cases, plus a bullet fragment. O'Kelly noted that the primer markings on the casings were consistent with a glock forty pistol, and he also said the cases later tested negative for fingerprints and they were sealed for forensic testing. He also talked about the early descriptions of the suspect vehicle that were going out over the radio that night as all this is going on, and he said, at first it was a light colored Cadillact possibly white, with two black males heading north. He said later the description was updated to a white Cadillac with four black mails heading south on covial officers were put on the lookout for light colored Cadillacs in the area in known gang spots. So

23:08 that was his testimony. The prosecution releases him and he's cross examined by the defense and they ask him about the report writing practices and how these cold cases really work, and O'Kelly explained that back then a lot of the paperwork was still typewriter written, if you can imagine that, and handwritten, and he said it's not unusual in long investigations for reports to be finalized later. He said sometimes this could occur even after a grand jury is convened. He said, once the leads have been exhausted is when they really start putting everything together. He also talked about how cold case investigators go back through old files and look for anything that can still be tested. You're talking DNA fingerprints, video, new interviews decades later like in this case.

24:00 And at that point the defense releases him. And I thought he had some pretty good value with his testimony because this is one of the first officers on the actual shooting scene and he was able to put forty caliber casings on the roadway on Flamingo and discuss that early crime scene. Tighten up if you will. I thought he did a good job all right. So far we've heard from a few witnesses and primarily investigators, right, medical examiners, witnesses to the shootings, those sort of things. But now it's time to get to the players in this case. And next up on the witness stand was none other than the former head of the Mob Piru Blood's faction in Compton. He's known as Mob James. His real name is James McDonald and he has quite the history with keefd and he is very deep into this situation. Let me explain. Back in nineteen ninety six, Mob James was deep into the Death Row Mob Poweru world. He told the jury he had been around Sug Knight in Death Row since the early days after he got out of prison in nineteen eighty eight, and he said Sug Knight actually picked him up from prison and his role with this organization was basically protection. He said, I looked out for Shug's artist and he handled problems when they came up.

25:29 He was at Club sixty six y two that night, which was the club Sug was running. It was where he and Tupac were headed during this shooting, and Tupac was supposed to perform here after the Mike Tyson fight. As a matter of fact, his testimony was so intriguing then, rather than summarizing it like I've done with the others today, I'm gonna play his thirty minute testimony for you. Now you've got to hear it out of his own mouth. James McDonald, I mean, yes, mcd ore ao D thank you, mister. Mister couldever you think? Thank you? Mister McDonald. It's fair to say that you're here because of a court order, is that right? Great that he didn't volunteer to come or anything like that, not at all, okay, But you were instructed by a course that you had to attend. Yes, I want to ask you about September seventh, nineteen ninety six. Were you at Club sixty six two?

26:29 Yes? What was Club sixty six two? It was a club that you involved and we operated it when he opened. I was here at security to the neighborhood, just a place to go and hang out. Did the number sixty six two mean anything. Well to the new guys that was part of our neighborhood? Six six two mob. Okay, mob. And when you say MLB, there used to be before. Apple iPhones and those types of things, when you had to.

27:10 Have to have landlines and you pressed numbers six six two, there would be letters under those numbers, and M and oh would be under six is that right? And B would be under two, So sixty six two would be M O B. Yes. Was when you talk about Sugar, you talking about ship Night. How do you know Shugar you lived in my neighborhood? And is that in Compton? Yes? When you were at Club sixty six two you said you were head of security. Was somebody by the name of Reggie Wright Junior. There with you?

27:51 Not at that time? No? No? When when was he with you? I got out of prison in nineteen eighty eight, shoot came again. I mean in nineteen eighty eight, like four days from from coming home. Started another company, h burn Hill Records. Then death Row Records came soon as death Row was launched. Reggie came a few months after that. Okay, so we're talking about the start of death Row Records. Reggie wasn't part of Death Row Records initially, but you were, yes, and then sug Night was he the boss of death Row records. Yes, Okay, was Sugar from the same neighborhood.

28:39 From the mob? Yeah, I wouldn't say sure. Was he was gilt you by associates. He wasn't from the neighborhood. He lived in the neighborhood. We looked at him as somebody from the neighborhood. When he started Death Row and start to recruit us, then yes, he from the hood. So I guess there's a difference between living in asserts and on a certain streets versus being from the hood. And how would you describe that difference.

29:22 I look at it. You have three different type of brands in the neighborhood. You got gang members, you got gang members, gang bangers, and you got men that just guilty by association from being living in that area. And can you tell me what the difference between a gang member and a gang banger. Is A gang member hangs out, a gang banger handles his business, put in work, do with the gang, what the gang do. And what was your role with Death Row? I was I was the guy that if something happened, she would have you take care of that. Like Snoop dogg trout. There was issues up there. I was sent up there to make sure those problems didn't happen again.

30:20 And are those problems and I'm not asking you again specifics, but are those problems meaning issues with other people who might be gang banging or might be trying. To threaten folks? And you are somebody that should relied on to be able to protect his roster of music artists and. Other things like that. And after you were asked to help out with Snoop and Snoop have any other problems? No, you didn't have one issue at court. Now I'm gonna ask you fast forward a little bit too. Are you familiar with the South Side contry? Would you say they were somebody you were an alliance with or a rivalry with, Okay? And when sometimes those uh that rivalry get violent.

31:14 Anytime you did them with gang the gang life is going to be violence at any given time. Are you familiar with somebody by the name of somebody that went by the name of Tupac Shak? Yes, How are you familiar with Tubac? It was a time of death broke and. When he was signed with death Row. Was he also uh what did he also hang out with you guys? Uh? He hung with my brother? Yeah, who who is your brother? Alex and McDonald bucher? Do you win by buntree? Yah? Now during this time, is it fair to say that mister Shaquur had an issue with rappers from the East Coast?

31:58 I think Tubac and it to be between suld Knight and. Puppy, Okay, that was your perspective of it. That that's that's all it was. And we all failed the m Some of us feel victim to it because we allowed ourselves to be a part of the the b it should I say? And that was a situation between uh record companies like games, So technically it wasn't our business. But when you had twenty men just fresh out of prison and didn't have a way of getting the things they wanted getting the paycheck from should we did almost anything and everything to get that paycheck.

32:48 Now, was there another gang that was associated with bad Boy Records? The East Coast record company that Puppy had? The only one I knew of it is south Side? And did that escalate the tension between mob Pirou and south Side? At the time we was in there was no ed Ward, no which piece And when the two record companies got into it, bad Boy went to Kipi Dina and she came to us. So that intertwined everything and we Uh, yes, we had issues.

33:31 Do you recall any instances where that you were at where there were issues? Those issues manifested itself in terms of violence. Are you scared? Don't asked me that right here? I I can't say that. On both sides when when each neighborhood met each other, there could have been there was a lot of tension. I said, Okay, now I wanna talk a little bit about September seventh, nineteen ninety six. Were you in Las Vegas on September seventh of nineteen ninety six six?

34:15 Why were you in Las Vegas. To run the security at sixty sixty two. Uh, we were having issues with individuals that said that they were coming for whatever reason, they was coming forward and to come to sixty sixth two. My job was to not let that happen. Similar to the kind of security you are asked to apply in the whole Snoop dog. Situation, It didn't have nothing to do with Snoop DOGG. It was everybody came, well, children bunching them, It's aunt rushed, everybody went for the fight. My job been. All of my people were there too to make sure nothing funny happened at sixty six two. So we were to fall guys, So if something happened, we was the one that's gonna go to jail four, prepared to do that. So nobody else was gonna come up there and disrupt it in that manner. But if if anybody remember that night, there was so many Metro and everybody there, no neither side could have did me. So it was calm, it was peaceful.

35:31 So when you say there's so much Metro that you're talking about so much Metro a club six sixteen, it was police pa. Now you said you were there to be on the lookout for uh something. Said, I was on the lookout. But look, I I apologize you were there. You were there in order to ensure there weren't any products. Is that there to make sure everything was good? And because you had heard there might be some issues and what were the issues that you were concerned. About individuals coming up there creating an issue we was having with different sizes of from what with crips period, So you.

36:14 Were worried about crips, not worry So I'm sorry you were You were there providing security to ensure that crips did not initiate any violence at Club six C. That just that nothing would happen, okay, period, okay. And then when you were there, was Reggie Wright Junior with you that night at September seventh, nineteen ninety six at Club six six two. Yes, what was Reggie doing there? Reggie job was to watch me and make sure I don't get in trouble. Everybody knew how I was, so Reggie everybody else went to the fights. Reggie was there to watch me with the people that was there.

36:56 And I'm guessing that you were not the only person there making sure there wasn't any problems at Club six six. Time positive it was thirty forty kilos there and. Again that was to make sure that there wasn't any violence that occurred to Club six six When, uh, at some point that night, do you learn that Tupac or Shug have been shot that night? Yes? Can you tell me how you learn about that? Well, people was coming back and was explaining that Tupac and she just got shot. Everybody was in a roar.

37:38 A lot of people's start. We've been trying to get over there on Kobo. We couldn't leave because we getn't paid to do this here. It wasn't too long after people started coming back, like ha Ron came back and went to the hospital. The majority of the people was coming, was leaving and then coming back because that night they said Tupac was gonna be all right. And even Suld came back with a little bandage on his head, and uh, we thought everything was good. People can't find it. So and when Shug came back, he said he had a bandage on his head. But I mean, they didn't said he got shot, but he was Gray's a little scarf, a little scar but nothing to penetrate.

38:28 Some people would describe being shot in the headlight. I mean, all right, so when you when you find out, well, let me ask you, this was Reggie with you when you found out that Tupac. And Sugar were shot? Yes? And did it appear to you in any way that Reggie Wright Jr. Was coordinating uh as the murder of tupacx accord. Impossible? I I mean, and I say this because you're aware of that. There have been some conspiracy theories that Reggie Wright Junior is responsible for the for the murder of Tupac.

39:12 And and and it's so not true. His father was imprecated and his father had something to do with it. Reggie Bide used to be a police officer. And and here again, I've been knowing Reggie Writer for fifty years. His daddy as a police officer patrolling my neighborhood. And it took me to jail her many times when I messed up. If if if Reggie ed Tupac, then depth Row is over with Tupac was the the money source Tupac was was that guy in depth Row. So it's I Reggie would have had a problem in people that did that. And suld I, I truly believe you should would have opened his mouth if Reggie betrayed him like that.

40:02 So people say what they want to. Say after that night, do you stick around in Las Vegas or do you go back to Compton? Well I stayed in Vegas and we left that morning because we knew it was gonna we was gonna have neighborhood issues. And everybody left and went back into comp. Why were you thinking you might have neighborhood issues? Well, you ask me some the issues that we was having was heated and Compton was on fire at the time and things were happening, and me personally staying in Vegas wasn't work. That man in the hospital. Is time to go in and protect your home, frunt and be prepared for whatever happened there, you know what I'm saying, Like the other side was being prepared and was prepared to do things because Orlando got beat up in there, and that's something you don't tolerate. So you was gonna get some repercussion from that and everything else that was going on. So living this like, you gotta be ready.

41:23 If you're not, you might as well just lay down now. You weren't there for the beating of Orlando Anderson at the MGM, where I was like, we talked earlier, you are at six sixteen. Yeah, but. D are you aware of why Orlando was targeted? I'm aware of a lot of things things that was going on. People ain't talked about it in thirty years.

42:05 Today ain't one of 'em. I I don't really be twenty. But here's the thing. A lot of a lot of things happen that night. A lot of things happened weeks and weeks after that night. Me or anybody else bringing up the dead is wrong. A lot of people got hurt behind this situation in itself, living the life and and how we lived in coming uh. It's one thing you bring back all of the guys that made it.

42:50 Like me, I'm sixty one years old now to to rehash and relive this situation again. I I told every attorney in here that try 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 down because you answer me questions. I can't answer those questions. Okay, well, let me ask you this then I'm not gonna speak on Orlando. Let me ask you something about yourself. That was a rumor that Tupac had uh knocked you out one time? That would have been your response to that happened. Yeah, I'm being honest with you and anybody else. I said it on my podcast show him chilling my brother out of shout out three of them. If he touched me as I was living, why is that? That's That's what I was back then.

43:37 And so is it fair to say that your reputation and your standing in the neighborhood would require you. To do something. If you're going to get punked by somebody like Tubac. You don't have a church, children or you you can't be bit. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. We're just a side talking. I know that's my fault. I asked uh that, being in the life that you were, if somebody like Tubac is punking you, like by punching you in the face something like that, you would have to retaliate or you would lose your place. In the neighborhood. You would have to go back home and fight everybody that called you a pump. You would have to go. There's some roules that you roll with and some groups you just gotta handle. Certain things need to be dealt with. It just living that life. And when I was living that life, it wasn't no advangel, but it wasn't no oh you get a past. I have shot him, to be honest.

44:43 So then you had mentioned I'm not going to ask you to go into any specifics, but you. Had mentioned that. After what happened here in Las Vegas, there were issues between the neighborhoods. How long did that last one? Was it like all right, one day, we're good, everything's done, or I saw a lot of that that. No, it was a it was catching an air for quite a long time until I guess both sides and he might agree, just said let this to go, because it really was an R beat. This was between shild Knight and PPD. And people put themselves in situations like myself.

45:23 I ain't. I ain't. I'm guilty as everybody else, like myself. I'm putting myself in the situation to protect something and somebody that didn't have nothing to do with me. I did it for a paycheck. I did it on suggest because I'm older now I get it. But we did things for all the road reasons at that time in them days. Of course, you under.

46:05 Okay class examination. Mister simp. S. Have you remit me shooting? Have you ever met me before? No? Have you ever spoken to the just retorneys prior to your testimony here today? And is that what you were referring to is the time that you told them like, hey, any attorney here better treat me as hostile. Because yeah, I told him I didn't have nothing to do with k. Nope. A couple questions for you, sir. This is more for clarification. So on the night of the murder. You were working as the head of security for six six two. Explain for us a little bit about the club. Was that Shook's club or was that somebody else's club?

46:51 Shoot two minds? Okay? And when you were there as head of security? Were you there? Had you worked there as head of security prior to this particular night? Uh? We did an event there once before, Yeah, same thing, okay. And on this particular night, was this was this an event like a like some type of fundraiser or something for police officers or anything like that. You recall what the events were, we wouldn't have been there, okay. No, the what was the reason for the event. It was Mike Tyson Bite Tyson was coming back Tupac was supposed to perform like other people, and we was there for that.

47:32 Okay. Can you describe for us how big the club is so that we can thirty. Years ago, right, a little bit bigger than this room. So it's a it's a it's relatively it's not like a two story it's and in terms of the club itself, you were there, and you were you were sharing with us that there were other people that were there. Yeah, Uh, law enforcement. As well as Uh, I don't know people from your side of town. Oh, law enforcement was outside the Metro was to my mind, they were outside. We were all inside. Wouldn't the law enforcement mingling with us?

48:17 So, as far as you know, law enforcement wasn't hired by Reggie Wright to provide additional security. Metro posted up all over the place. And so they were there specifically, just like what harass or just send a warning or what? No, they were there like when you have events in Las Vegas. Everybody know you gonna see Metro here here every block. Yeah, they was posted up, which they do all the time. But you're telling me that as head of security, you do not know or you don't believe that Reggie Wright hired the Metro officers. Kind of fact, he didn't have the Metro police. Do you know how many people were on the payroll that night from your security team?

49:02 Well, y'all do y'all do better work different than we did. My paperwork was getting cash money. Our paperwork was what they call under the table. We had at least thirty forty of my homeboys there. Reggie Right Jr. And his scur his security, his company, the people work for him, didn't have nothing to do with what sheould have paid us for working. So that was two different entities, Reggie and Chill. The Homies was there for the Child Night. Reggie Wright hired his company to watch over Child Night people, right, so his security did like the the right thing. My security did what they ain't gonna do. You did what I'm saying. I get it. The police gonna work you out of there. We're gonna drag you out of there.

50:03 So it was a difference, but not on the same paper. Sure, And once again, the intent was to protect sixty two right to protect the club, protect the patriots, that we're gonna go. There, that kind of thing. Yeah, okay. Now, in terms of your knowledge of what happened on that night, fair to say you weren't present when the shots. Had run out. No, I wouldn't there, okay. And your testimony is that you had heard from other people initially that hey, Tupac had been shot, yes, and you had thought maybe other people were maybe really thinking like, Okay, he's gonna it's not that big of a deal. He's gonna be okay. That's what came back to six sixty two people that went to the scene, and everybody said Tupac was talking.

50:48 So everybody came back to the club saying, you're gonna be all right. So people just went back to you know, mean. Right now in terms of the that night, you go back to Compton, you live in content, Yes, you still live in confident. No, at the time, you live in Compton. You go back to Compton, and you tell us that there was a lot of tension. 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? Is it gonna be graphic? No? I ain't gonna. I don't raise the word in it.

51:30 But you asked me your question. I don't. 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're prison. So that's why I'm here where I'm at and the way I am, because I've changed my life. I'm raising my grandkids, teaching them never to be like they popo, And here I am explaining to people what I used to be. And I'm not proud of that. I'm not proud of it 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.

52:22 Well, let me let me, let me put this wing, let me help answer this. Okay. So these people right. Here, what they want to know from you is did you see who shots Tupak? 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 south side crib shots a pirate blood and then a pirate blood shoots. A south side crypt Is that the tension that we're talking about? Do I answer this? That's a springboard question. Yes, you're answer when? Okay, did you see that? When? When I was a part of that? Like I was a part of that, and I was no, because you asking something that's gonna hurt this dude. When I when? When? When? Okay, let me let.

53:11 Me stop, and once again, I wanted I want to when we got back to com Okay, it was. A gang war. People were getting hurt, people was being sought, people was being people were looking for certain individuals from his neighborhood. That's what they did mine, but Orlando, him and certain other people were being sought it because people wanted. To kill them. Sure, Were they the only ones that they wanted to. Kill this here, No, they weren't the only one. It's his neighborhood in particular, but they were the main subjects of of of of a game war. It was in the middle such as me.

53:59 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 Tupa. Okay, but my question to you, my question shop, can you focus on me per second? Yeah? Well, and I apologize, I just want to make. Sure they were clear, okay, for. These duders in terms of that information. None of those people. Were there, right, What people you were speaking on, the people that was already in the neighborhood or the people that lost left lost 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.

54:47 So once again my question to you is is that the information that I'm asking. About is the people that. Back home and you're saying, we're eyewitnesses to this. How could people back home be out winning to something that happened in Bess. No, that's not what I'm saying. The people that were here in aust This is my question, sir. The people that were here in Las. Dagas 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. Six answer my question, sir, Yes or no. I can't answer that without of without of what you called. You're trying to tell me to say something that you're not gonna 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, mister mcgond's focused for Settle.

55:28 I am focused, baby, focused on this. My question to you is this, you didn't know what happened that night because you weren't there. I was at six six two. Do you know who was that was there? I knew everybody that was there. Okay, like, who. Tell me your lord, your man, just do the stripper. I'm not gonna explain that I came. I can't answer that. Okay, let me ask you this the next question that you are telling us that people back in Comton, for some reason knew what happened here in Las Vegas. A phone conversation. People found out when people left Las Vegas the same night Tupac was shot, went straight back to come. It only takes two three and a half hours to get home. Sure, yes it was. It wasn't a problem for people to find out what happened, No problem at all.

56:24 They got on their phones, the texted people did let them know what happened here on the night of shooting. Yeah, they had. They had walkie talkies, They had all kinds of phones. They had ways to call people to say whatever. But when people left Las Vegas that same night after day found out and got in their course and went home because it was a situation park with shot retaliation is a mug come on, man, like it was for real, for real. All of this was for real. Now, the night of the shooting, did you have a walkie talkie next heel thing or something like that. No, the reasid right, I don't know where he had.

57:07 I don't know how much money had in his bucket. I don't know who he had on this hill, but you. Rather had a securities, but your talents you did not have. Much, right rich Uh, right way. Security has nothing to do with the the game ban and security par ruge, whatever you want to call us, they had nothing to do with us. Okay. The bones that Sugar had for certain individuals, they had the pons, like the guy that was supposed to was bodyguard with Tupac that night, like some of the guys that was at the Tyson Bite, like sug Knight. Certain individuals had phones. Yes they did. Okay, So. All right, okay, what you're saying, you're not there, but you're saying other people were.

57:51 Yeah, So I'm saying it was a lot of people there. A lot of people were there at the shooting that. Took place that was in the entourage. Yes, let's see. Okay, just want to final question. You're here today, and I think the state had asked this question under a subpoena. Your order to be here today? Right? Yes, in terms of that subpoena, for instance, is that that's the only reason why you're here is because of that subpoena. I don't have no other reason to be here. Yeah, uh. In order for you to get that subpoena. You were served that subpoena back in California. Yes, by a police officer. I don't know. He wasn't in uniform, okay.

58:34 And that order required you to go to a court in California. I had to go to court in bigtor Bill And then that court. In California said you have to show up here. And in that court I pushed them out and told them you can't make me do nothing right. And in that court they told me that I would be an attempt at court me raising my grandkids. I've not been putting my grandkids in the car and moved somewhere. So y'all came behind me. So all that running and living a different life, I ain't doing it. So I agreed to come, and I, like I explained to everybody in here. You ask me something I'm gonna be honest about. You ask me something I don't want to talk about. You're gonna have a problem. Treat me as a hostile witness.

59:16 You're not gonna talk to me and tell me as a grown man what I have to do up here. I'm not finishing him to prison. You are. So the accusation now is because of the fact that we're trying to ask you questions, playing. It on me. You ask me questions. If I just like answer your questions, we're gonna have a problem in here. I'm misunderstanding and and you're asking me something that wouldn't be good with him right. And once again, I just want to look, we're just trying to figure out who shots you are. You're telling us that you That's all I am now at the end of the day. That says, right, was I answerized when Tupac got shot? No?

1:00:00 Okay, nothing else right, I was in sixty six. I mean it ain't that ain't hard. That doesn't mean that is he mad. No further questions though, anything for their stages. All right, got one more phase and then we'll let you out of here. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury and questions for this witness seeing no hands? Oh we do have one okay, hang on one second, Yeah, all right, I have a question for you from one of our jermors, if you can answer it. Did Reggie write Junior instruct security to not have fire arms and out of the fight.

1:00:49 To be honest, I don't know if Reggie right to his people, all the police officers not to have girls. And I don't know why he show didn't tell us because we had ours. And that's don's true, all right, any fellow, based on that seat, 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, we did, all right? Thank you? All right, See, I know you didn't want to be here, but thank you for coming. Okay, I want to photo jaize to everybody, but I find this kind of funny and and and tup me.

1:01:31 What you're going through, brother, is what you're going through. I didn't want to be a part of that, and I'm not a part of that. So I appreciate it. Over again. Okay, thank you, mister McDonald, if you are. Free to go. So what's the significance of mob james testimony considering he wasn't even there when Tupac got shot and could not identify the shooter. Well, this is the prosecution starting to bring in people from inside death Row in Compton to paint that picture of the rivalries. The security set up at Club sixty sixty two that night in the immediate fallout after the shooting, but he gave the jury a first hand look at the atmosphere in the relationships that surrounded that night in Las Vegas, and they're starting to form what's.

1:02:21 Known as a motive. Right. Last up that day was the twelfth witness for the defense, a well known guy from Compton. His name is Reggie Wright Junior, and he took the stand. Now, this is someone who's been right in the middle of death Row that world for decades. His father was a lieutenant with the Compton Police Department, and he himself had worked as a police officer before retiring in nineteen ninety six. After that, he became head of security for Death Row Records. And it was interesting that he's currently in a wheelchair due to complications from COVID. Now Right testified that he was specifically responsible for Tupac's security. He said he usually assigned two guys to stay with Tupac at all times. He talked about the rising tension in nineteen ninety six, including a confrontation that's became pretty infamous at the Soule Train Music Awards where Tupac and the Death Road crew they would actually cross paths with Biggie Smalls and his people at Bad Boy Records. Wright said he recognized some of Biggie's security as south Side Compton crips, and he put Keefeb in the group. That night at the Soul Trained Music Awards, he described an argument where a gum was brandished and he said he had to pull his own weapon and told the other side, don't raise yours, because I don't want to do what I have to do if you raise that weapon now. On the night of

1:03:52 September seventh, nineteen ninety six, Wright said he went to the parking lot of the MGM Grand for the Mike Tyson fight, but he now I ever went inside because it looked too chaotic. From there, he said he headed over to Club sixt' six two. He described the club that night as not really being extremely crowded. He said he found out about the shooting when two guys from the entourage came running up to him at the club and said Shug and Tupac had been shot down the street. Now, one of those guys was the younger brother of James McDonell Mob James, and at that point Wright said he didn't even know Tupac and Shug were on their way to the club when they got shot, so prosecutors they showed him the MGM fight video. Right would point out people and identify those he knew that were involved in the altercation with Orlando Anderson. They also showed him photos of various individuals, including Keithy d and a death row gold chain. Right explaining that those chains these big medallions.

1:04:55 They were given to artists and close associates of Shug Knight. He told the jury that after the shooting, he stayed in Las Vegas for about a week, and he said he had two security guys posted outside Tupac's hospital for the entire time Tupac was fighting for his life. He said a Fenie Shakur Tupac's mother, who was in charge of who was allowed in and out. And he said after Tupac passed, he received the ashes and delivered them to Tupac's mother. When the prosecutor asked him point blank, did you have anything to do with the murder of Tubac, because there was a bunch of rumors out there that supposedly he did, Right answered absolutely not. On cross examination, the defense pressed him, and Right pushed back. He said he had told prosecutors from the beginning he had nothing to do with it. He talked about the heavy Metro police present that night, and he said police were everywhere in Las Vegas because of the Mike Tyson fight, and we weren't really concerned about something going down because there were so many cops everywhere that night. Right also spoke about the atmosphere backing content after the shooting. Look, it was a war after Tupac got shot between the crips and the Bloods. He said, when they got back, it was a gang war, and he described the code of that life. He said, if someone disrespects you, retaliation is expected.

1:06:25 But he framed his own role in all of this as a person who put himself in dangerous situations for a paycheck, protecting the artists and their business. And that was it that they got through a ton of witnesses today. I sure don't see this thing going on for a month. They're already almost halfway through the prosecution witnesses. Not really sure how many the defense are going to call, but they are moving right along in this trial. Follow me, I'm going to provide daily updates. If you're the show, welcome. I think you're gonna like it. To all those that have been here since the beginning, love you, appreciate you.

1:07:07 Check out the Patreon Patreon dot com slash Exposed podcast files for all kinds of things, bonus episodes, commercial, free early releases, so much more. Patreon dot com slash Exposed podcast files and until next time for exposed scandalous files of the elite. I'm your host, Jim Chapman. Much love,