NEWSSuge Knight Says 'Leave Me Out' of Tupac Murder Trial as Prosecutors Face Witness Problem
Suge Knight said he wanted no part in Tupac Shakur’s murder trial.
Aug. 13 2026, Published 9:16 a.m. ET
Suge Knight says he wants no part of the long-awaited Tupac Shakur murder trial.
Nearly 30 years after Shakur was fatally shot in Las Vegas, jury selection is beginning in the trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, charged in the rapper’s killing. Knight, who was driving the BMW Shakur was riding in when the gunfire erupted on September 7, 1996, is listed as a possible witness prosecutors could call.
From prison, he told ABC News he still does not want to cooperate.
“Leave me out of it,” Knight said.
A Witness Who Does Not Want to Take the Stand
Suge Knight refused to cooperate as a possible witness in the case.
Knight, now serving a 28-year sentence in California for voluntary manslaughter in an unrelated hit-and-run case, made clear in the interview he sees testifying as snitching.
“Unfortunately for prosecutors and police many times the ‘street code’ mandates not testifying and not cooperating in any way whatsoever,” said Andrew Stoltmann, an adjunct law professor at Northwestern University.
“This is one of the many reasons why it’s taken so long for someone to be charged with this crime,” he added.
What Prosecutors Can Do
Legal experts explained the limits of compelling testimony from an incarcerated witness.
Prosecutors allege Davis helped orchestrate the shooting and provided the gun. Davis, a former South Side Compton Crips leader, has since claimed his earlier public statements about the case were false. He has pleaded not guilty.
“Witnesses who refuse to testify, can be compelled to testify by way of a subpoena,” said Daniel M. Rosenberg of Rosenberg Perry & Associates, who is not involved in the case.
“If you refuse to comply with the subpoena, you can be held in contempt of court,” he explained, which would involve being held in custody for the duration of the trial. “If you’re in custody, in prison or otherwise, that leverage is extremely limited, because you’re already in custody.”
- 'Leave Me Out of It': Suge Knight Refuses to Testify in Tupac Murder Trial — Despite Being Only Living Eyewitness to 1996 Drive-by Assassination
- Inside Tupac Shakur's Murder Trial Against Duane 'Keffe D' Davis 30 Years After Rapper's Killing
- Keffe D Denies Role in Tupac Shakur's Murder Before Trial: 'I Wasn’t in Nevada'
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The Jury Still Notices
Suge Knight’s absence could leave jurors without testimony from a key surviving eyewitness.
“Courts routinely handle testimony from inmates,” said Tarlika Nunez-Navarro, a former Miami-Dade County judge and criminal defense attorney who is not involved in the case.
Jurors are instructed to only consider the evidence presented at trial, she noted, but if Knight does not testify, they will likely feel the absence.
“Prosecutors will emphasize the evidence they do have, while the defense may argue that the jury is being asked to decide the case without hearing from one of the few surviving eyewitnesses,” she added.
Prosecutors faced a challenge involving one of the trial’s potential witnesses.
Stoltmann said jurors “usually do not give prosecutors a free pass when it comes to crucial witnesses not testifying regardless of the reason.”
“When the door closes and jurors are deliberating they are allowed to do whatever they want,” Rosenberg explained. “Candidly, they can disregard all of the jury instructions and render a decision based on their own judgment.”
Knight insisted his loyalty remains with Shakur: “That's my brother.”
