Tupac Shakur murder trial: gang leader in court accused of orchestrating 1996 killing of rap star

Minutes after testifying that it was “impossible” that Reggie Wright Jr was involved in the murder of Tupac Shakur , James McDonald, a former associate of Death Row Records executive Suge Knight, refused to go into detail about the beating of Orlando Anderson at the MGM Hotel, and how that beating fueled ongoing tensions between rival factions in Compton.

“Me or anybody else bringing up the dead is wrong,” McDonald said.

“I told every attorney that tried to get me in here, you’d better treat me as a hostile witness. And I think that’s where I’m about to know now, because you’re asking me questions--I can’t answer those questions.”

Right after Shakur’s shooting, McDonald said he immediaely left Las Vegas for California. “We knew we were going to have neighborhood issues,” he said. “It’s time to go and protect your home front. Like the other side was being prepared and was prepared to do things because Orlando got beat up in there ,and that’s something that you don’t tolerate.”

Asked why Orlando was targeted in Las Vegas, McDonald said: “I’m aware of a lot of things, things that was going on. People ain’t talked about it in 30 years. Today ain’t one of them. I don’t mean to be funny. But, here’s the things: a lot of things happened 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 in how we lived in Compton is one thing. You bring back all of the guys who made it, like me, I’m 61 years old now, to rehash and relive this situation.”

It’s worth noting that Orlando Anderson, the nephew of Duane “Keefe D" Davis, whose beating prosecutors say prompted Shakur’s killing, has been dead since 1998.