Most Vegas is no stranger to the national spotlight, but the attention it's getting right now is for an event that happened 30 years ago.

On September 7th, 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur was killed in a Drive-By shooting near the Las Vegas Strip.

And now, 63 year old Dewayne Davis is on trial for allegedly orchestrating the murder.

Davis has pleaded not guilty.

His trial began with jury selection on August 10th, and on Wednesday, the prosecution rested its case.

And in that Las Vegas courtroom for it all has been Jessica Hill.

Reporter for the Associated Press.

Jessica, welcome back to Nevada Week.

Thanks for having me.

How strong is the evidence in this case?

That is a great question.

It depends on what you consider evidence.

Prosecution has really showed, the jurors Davis's own words.

However, defense has said there's no real physical evidence that ties client to Las Vegas that night and to the shooting.

We saw one, like, account that there were bills, like hotel bills from Las Vegas, that were found in Davis's home.

However, we don't know where those bills are, and we don't know the date of those bills.

But mostly prosecutors just relied on Davis's own words.

You know, he wrote a book or coauthored a book.

And he described himself being there that night.

He testified to law enforcement in 2008 during a proffer agreement describing his own role.

And then he also promoted his book and participated in multiple interviews with media, outlining his role.

And it just depends on what you consider evidence.

Prosecution says this should be enough to convict him.

And his defense has been like, well, my client is not trustworthy and he's unreliable.

And these words were just made to make money.

What did he say to police back in 2008 about his role?

So he described how he was in the car that night in the white Cadillac that pulled up next to Tupac Shakur, and.

Good night.

He was in the passenger seat, and because he was in the passenger seat, he couldn't get a good shot.

He said that he would have if they were on the other side.

But he said that he gave the gun back to the backseat and shots were fired from back there.

He made other claims, that Tupac, it looked like, had reached for a gun.

However, that has not been proven that there's a gun in the car.

Some of his, like, testimony has verified has like, varied during like depending on what interview was.

In some cases he has said, his nephew Orlando Anderson was the one that pulled the trigger.

And other times he says that he doesn't know who pulled the trigger.

But regardless, he was the only one that's allegedly still alive who was in the car.

Orlando Anderson is his nephew.

He has passed away since he's believed to be the man that actually pulled the trigger.

How big of a deal was it that the judge allowed that recording with police to be admitted as evidence?

It was a big deal.

I think it's one of their main pieces of evidence at this point, because this was an agreement that Davis had to tell the truth to law enforcement.

It's also a big deal because he was told that this would never be used against him.

In, in the hearing, you know, you could hear them talk about how this proffer agreement was private.

This would not be used.

You know, we're not here to arrest you.

And in the courtroom, as this was being played, you could hear people like, you know, make a sound or, like, shake their head.

Not necessarily, you know, in favor of Davis, but just like, acknowledging that, you know, the prosecution has said we're not prosecution, but law enforcement has said this would be used against you.

And it has been.

So I think that helps, you know, prosecution, and defense has to say, well, maybe he wasn't telling the truth in this interview either.

What has the courtroom been like?

Who's been there every day?

Has it been packed?

Most days it's been mostly packed, yes.

Tupac Shakur, his family has been sitting in the front row every single day of the trial.

We've seen, you know, fans come in and listening intently.

And then just, you know, some curious bystanders, I decide to come in and just watch the trials proceeding for that day.

Really?

Yes.

Yeah.

I talked to a couple who were on vacation in Vegas, and they're like, we just want to check out a trial.

So they decided on it.

Yeah.

What about the defendant, Dwayne Davis?

What has he been like in court?

He's mostly been pretty quiet.

You know, we are watching his facial expressions.

Sometimes he seems frustrated.

There was one moment, a few days ago in court where after the jury had left, he sat up and told the judge that he was really upset that witnesses have been giving out his addresses.

Because, you know, it's being live streamed everywhere and people are watching.

And in some cases, witnesses have talked about, you know, how they conducted searches on Dwayne Davis's, you know, residences.

And he has said that, you know, they're giving out his address on in public, and people have come to his house and like, cry for us family.

And so actually, in response, prosecution has made sure that his address hasn't been given out since.

Okay.

And then what about Tupac's family who is there from his family, and what are they telling you?

Yeah, his, brother and sister have been there.

And then some, like family friends, some cousins have been there throughout the trial.

Mostly they're just, like, sitting pretty quietly and watching, you know, intently what is happening.

They have talked to me about how they feel like the justice is coming far too late.

You know, it has been 30 years.

They're wondering why it's taken so long.

And there are a lot of other questions that haven't been answered yet that they'd like to see, you know, brought up.

Okay, so the prosecution has rested its case.

It's the defense defense's turn now.

Will they have their defendant, Duane Davis, testify?

At this point, we do not know.

He was, taking it under consideration, last night.

It.

Wednesday night.

Wednesday night?

Yes.

So it's not clear yet.

I, I will guess that the answer is no.

But we shall see.

It would be interesting if he does take the stand.

Why would you be asked that?

I think, the defense attorney doesn't want his client to testify, especially because his entire words have been used against him.

So far.

And, you know, the judge has made it clear that if he does take the stand, he will be, you know, cross-examined.

And so we'll see what happens with that, if that you know, does come to fruition.

And then what about the timeline of this trial?

I have read it was estimated it would take about a month, but it seems it could be wrapping up quicker.

Is that true?

And does that indicate anything about the case?

Yes, it definitely is wrapping up much more quickly.

We're expecting closing statements to happen on Monday.

And then, you know, jury will obviously take it under consideration and maybe we'll have a verdict within the next, you know, several days.

This is the task for that jury.

Yes.

Yeah.

I don't think it's an easy case to really consider, you know.

The defense attorney, he says that he was not surprised by how quickly it's been going.

He claims, you know, it's because there is not a lot of evidence.

And there's only so many times that you could replay Dwayne Davis's words.

So all right, Jessica Hill of the Associated Press, thank you so much for joining Nevada Week.

Thanks.

I really.

September