Witness gets combative in Tupac murder trial - 'I don't want to send him to prison'

A member of Tupac Shakur's entourage was combative in testimony during the second day of the rapper's murder trial, decrying being forced to take the stand and identify those responsible for Shakur's death.

James "Mob James" McDonald said he was threatened with being held in contempt of court if he did not testify on Tuesday.

Duane "Keffe D" Davis is charged with murder and accused of orchestrating Shakur's death. He has pleaded not guilty.

McDonald was asked repeatedly whether he could identify who was responsible for Shakur's death. "You're asking me something that wouldn't be good for him," he said pointing to Davis. "I don't want to send you to prison," he also told the accused.

The trial - which aims to put to rest one of America's most high-profile unresolved murders - comes 30 years after the West Coast rapper's death.

Shakur was just 25 years old when he was gunned down in a drive-by shooting on a Las Vegas street after a Mike Tyson boxing match on 7 September 1996.

Prosecutors allege Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang, planned the shooting after his nephew Orlando Anderson was involved in a fight with Shakur in Las Vegas hours earlier. They argue that Davis believed the attack on his nephew could not "go unanswered".

The shooting came at a time when gangs had a hold over the '90s hip-hop scene, street code forbade police cooperation and distrust of authorities was rampant in the wake of the high-profile police brutality case of Rodney King and the subsequent LA riots.

Shakur himself, in an ambulance after he was shot, refused to talk to a police officer about what happened, instead telling him, "we'll take care of it". He died in hospital six days later.

And now 30 years on, McDonald appeared conflicted over breaking that street code. The witness, who said he had little love for Davis, remained hesitant when he took the stand on Tuesday to recount what happened.

What to know about Tupac's murder trial and the gang leader accused of orchestrating his death

McDonald - a former member of rival Blood street gang offshoot Mob Piru and enforcer at Suge Knight's Death Row Records label, which represented Shakur - testified that he was not with Shakur when the shooting took place.

He was repeatedly questioned by Davis's defence attorney Michael Sanft about whether he witnessed the attack and whether he knew who was there at the time.

Under oath, McDonald raised his voice and arms, saying he didn't want to answer many of these questions because it "wouldn't be good" for the defendant. McDonald looked over at Davis at one point, saying, "talk to your lawyer man, this dude is tripping".

"I don't want to send him to prison, even though we don't like each other. I don't want to send you to prison," he said looking at Davis, who sat in a suit, stone faced.

"You're asking me questions that can hurt him," McDonald told Sanft, flabbergasted.

When pressed, McDonald explained that even though he was not there to witness the shooting, those who were there that night within Shakur's entourage had quickly communicated who was responsible.

"It was a gang war. People were getting hurt. People were being sought," he said. "Orlando (Anderson), him and certain other people were being sought because people wanted to kill them."

He said people wanted revenge against those responsible for Shakur's death.

"They were the main subjects of a gang war - they were in the middle," McDonald said of Davis and his nephew, noting he, too, was part of this gang war.

When his testimony ended, McDonald addressed Davis: "What you are going through brother is what you going through. I don't want to be a part of it."

Reggie Wright Jr - a member of Shakur's security detail who in 1997 became general manager of Death Row Records - also provided testimony on Tuesday.

Days before the trial, Davis said that the evidence instead points to Wright, a former Compton police officer.

His defence team asked Wright about his role protecting Suge Knight, who was in the vehicle with Shakur at the time of the shooting, and asked about how his role grew after Knight left Death Row records.

"And then you became general manager," Sanft said, noting that after Knight was out of the picture, Wright took over Death Row Records, which was valued at $3m.

The high-profile case is expected to continue on Wednesday. Shakur's murder had largely gone cold until Davis himself made public statements about the case, co-authoring a memoir where he said he was a passenger in the vehicle that fired into Shakur's car and had supplied the gun that was used to kill him.

Davis has since distanced himself from the memoir, saying he didn't write all of it and that parts were fictionalised to sell more copies.

Get all the latest trial updates on the BBC Sounds ' Fame Under Fire: The Tupac Murder Trial' podcas t available wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

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