{"id":589133,"date":"2026-08-19T04:44:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T04:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/589133\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T04:44:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T04:44:14","slug":"tupac-murder-trial-james-mcdonald-reggie-wright-jr-take-the-stand-and-prosecutors-show-autopsy-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/589133\/","title":{"rendered":"Tupac murder trial: James McDonald, Reggie Wright, Jr. take the stand and prosecutors show autopsy photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Las Vegas\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

\n The murder trial over the fatal shooting of Tupac Shakur has captured the nation\u2019s attention, but on Day 2, a star witness said he\u2019d rather be just about anywhere else.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t volunteer to come or anything like that?\u201d prosecutor Binu Palal asked, acknowledging former Mob Piru Bloods gangbanger James McDonald.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cNot at all,\u201d said McDonald.\n <\/p>\n

\n The reluctant testimony of the former associate of Death Row Records owner Marion \u201cSuge\u201d Knight provided the biggest fireworks in the murder trial of Duane \u201cKeffe D\u201d Davis Tuesday, as emotions rose around the death of the top-selling rapper and the Death Row label\u2019s biggest star.\n <\/p>\n

\n Despite being a self-described \u201chostile witness\u201d who only appeared under a court summons, McDonald provided distinctly candid testimony about the violent conflict between the Crips and Bloods street gangs in Los Angeles.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAny time you\u2019re dealing with the gang life, there\u2019s going to be violence at any given time,\u201d said McDonald, who ran security at Knight\u2019s Las Vegas Club 662 the night Shakur was killed.\n <\/p>\n

\n Palal asked McDonald if he recalled any times when he was present and disagreements turned violent.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAre you serious? Don\u2019t ask me that right here,\u201d McDonald responded. \u201cI can say that on both sides, when each neighborhood met each other, there was a lot of tension, I\u2019ll say that.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n On the night of Shakur\u2019s shooting, McDonald said he was helping to coordinate security at Club 662, the night spot operated by Knight and the intended destination for him and Shakur when they were shot in their vehicle about a mile away.\n <\/p>\n

\n Investigators say Davis obtained the weapon used to fatally shoot Shakur and was in the vehicle from which the shots were fired. Prosecutors say the killing was part of a tit-for-tat exchange of violence between Crips and Bloods revolving around Davis\u2019 nephew, Orlando \u201cBaby Lane\u201d Anderson, who is believed to have pulled the trigger and died in a separate gang shooting two years later.\n <\/p>\n

\n McDonald, now a 61-year-old grandfather who says he\u2019s retired from the life, said the ongoing beef between Death Row, the top West Coast rap label, and Bad Boy Records, controlled by Sean \u201cPuffy\u201d Combs on the East Coast, rekindled what had become a relatively cold war between Crips and Bloods.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt was peace, and when the two record companies got into it, Bad Boy went to Keffe D, and Suge came to us,\u201d said McDonald. \u201cSo that intertwined everything, and yes, we had issues.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n McDonald, his black Atlanta Braves baseball cap folded and laid on the witness box, frequently shifted uncomfortably during questioning about the specific activities of other people involved in the gangs. Even though McDonald has renounced the gang life \u2013 and acknowledged he still does not like Davis personally \u2013 there was no way he was going to be a snitch, even under court order.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cYou\u2019re asking me questions, I can\u2019t answer those questions,\u201d said McDonald, looking occasionally to the judge in the vain hope of being excused from giving specifics.\n <\/p>\n

\"still_22906938_1980162.535_still.jpg\"<\/p>\n

McDonald warns that some of the questions that Davis’ attorney asks could make his client look worse.\n <\/p>\n

\"still_22906938_1980162.535_still.jpg\"<\/p>\n

McDonald warns that some of the questions that Davis’ attorney asks could make his client look worse.<\/p>\n

0:32<\/p>\n

\n \u201cTalk to your lawyer, man,\u201d McDonald said directly to Davis when asked for specific names of people at Club 662 on the night of the murder. \u201cThis dude is trippin\u2019.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n McDonald became furious with defense attorney Michael Sanft as he was asked to provide more details on the gang activity, arguing it would only make Davis look worse.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019m not finna send him to prison. You are!\u201d McDonald roared at the attorney.\n <\/p>\n

\n Although he didn\u2019t witness Shakur\u2019s murder himself, James McDonald \u2013 whose brother Alton \u201cBuntry\u201d McDonald was involved in the attack on Anderson on the night of Shakur\u2019s murder \u2013 says people in his gang knew right away there would be immediate payback for the shooting, even before Shakur died six days later.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cPeople left Las Vegas that same night, after they found out and got in their cars and went home, because it was a situation,\u201d he said. \u201cPac was shot. Retaliation is a \u2018mug\u2019. Come on, man. Like, it was for real, for real.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"Reginald<\/p>\n

\n After McDonald\u2019s fiery testimony, jurors heard from Reggie Wright, Jr., who had become the official head of Death Row Records security at that time while still also working as a sworn police officer in Compton, California.\n <\/p>\n

\n Wright \u2013 testifying from an electric scooter as a result of the effects of Long Covid \u2013 told the court his work for Knight\u2019s organization, which he did alongside other private security jobs, was different than the role of McDonald, who he acknowledged knowing was in the Bloods gang.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhile they weren\u2019t official security, would you say they provided a different form of security?\u201d Palal asked.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThat would be a fair. Yes, that\u2019s correct,\u201d Wright responded.\n <\/p>\n

\"still_22905668_1964369.3499999999_still.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Reggie Wright Jr., the former head of security at Death Row Records, testifying in Tupac murder trial.\n <\/p>\n

\"still_22905668_1964369.3499999999_still.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Reggie Wright Jr., the former head of security at Death Row Records, testifying in Tupac murder trial.<\/p>\n

1:09<\/p>\n

\n Tensions had been rising between the coasts, Wright acknowledged, and he had even assigned a second security guard to Shakur after the release of his notorious diss track, \u201cHit \u2018Em Up,\u201d which took on Combs\u2019 Bad Boy Records and its top artist, Christopher \u201cBiggie Smalls\u201d Wallace, directly.\n <\/p>\n

\n Wallace was killed in another drive-by shooting six months later in Los Angeles, a murder which has never been solved.\n <\/p>\n

\n Wright acknowledged his second agent for Shakur ended up calling out for work on the night of the murder. Although Knight and Shakur were followed by security, they were in their black BMW alone.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cFor some reason, he didn\u2019t show up,\u201d Wright said of the absent agent.\n <\/p>\n

\n Wright was cited in July by Davis in a jailhouse interview<\/a> as a possible person who actually orchestrated Shakur\u2019s killing. In court, Wright again denied the claim.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cDid you have anything to do with the murder of Tupac Shakur?\u201d asked Palal.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAbsolutely not,\u201d responded Wright.\n <\/p>\n

\n Before McDonald brought emotion to the witness stand, the day began with some testimony that appeared excruciating for the Shakur family. Prosecutors showed autopsy photos of Shakur, taken moments after his death following six days in the hospital.\n <\/p>\n

\n The photos showed tubes from the hospital still connected to Shakur\u2019s face, along with other signs of what the prosecutor and a forensic pathologist called \u201cevidence of medical intervention.\u201d The famous \u201cThug Life\u201d tattoo across Shakur\u2019s chest could be seen.\n <\/p>\n

\n Other photos displayed an open bullet wound under Shakur\u2019s right armpit. A row of sutures nearby across the top of his chest showed where Shakur\u2019s severely damaged lung had been removed during the unsuccessful attempts to save his life.\n <\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\n Jurors also saw a larger gunshot wound along his top right thigh and a slightly smaller wound near Shakur\u2019s right buttock. A bullet fragment recovered from his body was shown separately, laid on a paper towel.\n <\/p>\n

\n Shakur\u2019s family in the court gallery had been advised ahead of time that the graphic visuals were going to be shown and described. Shakur\u2019s sister Sekyiwa and his stepbrother Mopreme chose to leave before the testimony started. Family friend Tuere Burns initially remained, but covered her eyes with her hand as the first photos were shown and then walked out of the courtroom, visibly shaken.\n <\/p>\n

\n Davis and the jury did not have any visible reaction to seeing the photos of Shakur\u2019s body.\n <\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\n In a case filled with unexpected turns, one of the most unlikely events Tuesday happened outside of the courtroom. After his furious testimony and sharp elbows with Davis\u2019 defense, James McDonald waited in the lobby of the 16-story courthouse for another encounter with Sanft.\n <\/p>\n

\n But this time, it was to say he was sorry for letting things get so personal.\n <\/p>\n

\"Witness<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI just wanted to apologize to you,\u201d McDonald told Sanft, reaching for a handshake.\n <\/p>\n

\n The defense attorney said he understood the witness stand was a pressure cooker.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI mean, we\u2019ve never met (before),\u201d Sanft responded, \u201cso I get it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n McDonald told reporters he didn\u2019t want to play a role in potentially putting Davis in prison, but also said Davis had to recognize he had put himself into jeopardy by talking so much.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cRunning his damn mouth. Shut up!\u201d McDonald said. \u201cThe case is old. It\u2019s over, but for (money) you want to sit up here and tell people what you did? The average gang member don\u2019t do that. And he\u2019s paying for it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Las Vegas\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 The murder trial over the fatal shooting of Tupac Shakur has captured the nation\u2019s attention, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589134,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[146,85,46],"class_list":["post-589133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}