'I'm Not Going to Send Another Black Man To Prison': Tupac Murder Witness Refuses To Name Names In Court

A former Death Row Records co-founder associate refused to identify people connected to the night Tupac Shakur was shot, telling jurors he did not want his testimony to help put another Black man behind bars.

James 'Mob James' McDonald was ordered to testify in the Las Vegas murder trial of Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, the man accused of orchestrating Shakur's 1996 killing.

McDonald told PEOPLE that he did not wish to testify against Duane Davis, but stated that he was 'forced' to, claiming that he was told he would be sent to jail if he didn't give his testimony.

Witness Avoids Questions About Tupac's Killing

McDonald, 61, had been associated with the Mob Piru Bloods and worked security for Knight at Club 662 in Las Vegas. He told the court that he was at the club when news arrived that Shakur and Knight had been attacked in a drive-by shooting on 7 September 1996. When prosecutors questioned him about the gang tensions surrounding the killing, McDonald made clear that he did not want to revisit events from three decades ago, per AP.

Under questioning, McDonald became particularly resistant when asked who was present after the shooting. 'I know everybody that was there,' he told Michael Sanft, Davis' defence attorney.

When pressed to identify those involved, McDonald refused to elaborate. 'Talk to your lawyer, man. This dude is tripping. I'm not gonna explain that. I can't answer that. I'm not gonna send him to prison,' he said. He then made his position clear, saying, 'I'm not gonna send another Black man to prison.'

He also warned that some of the questions could directly damage Davis' case and repeatedly refused to provide information that could contribute to his imprisonment. 'Are you sure you want me to answer that?' McDonald said. 'I don't want to send him to prison, even though we don't like each other. You're asking me questions that can hurt him. ... You're asking something that's gonna hurt this dude.'

Gang War Followed Shakur's Death

McDonald did provide jurors with information about the violence that followed Shakur's death. He described a conflict between the Mob Piru Bloods, linked to Knight, and the South Side Compton Crips, associated with Davis.

According to his testimony, people were targeted after the shooting as tensions between the rival groups escalated.

'When we got back to Compton, it was a gang war. People were getting hurt. People were looking for certain individuals,' he told the court. 'Orlando, and certain other people, were being sought, because people wanted to kill them.'

Prosecutors allege the shooting was revenge for an earlier confrontation at the MGM Grand involving the rapper's entourage and Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, Davis' nephew.

Surveillance footage shown in court captured the confrontation before Shakur and Knight later travelled through Las Vegas in a BMW. Prosecutors say Davis was in a white Cadillac with Anderson and two other men when shots were fired at Shakur's vehicle.

McDonald also refused to answer when asked whether he knew why Anderson was beaten during the earlier confrontation at the MGM Grand.

The incident is central to prosecutors' theory that the shooting was carried out as retaliation. McDonald declined to discuss what he knew, telling Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal, 'I'm aware of a lot of things. Things that were going on, people ain't talked about them in 30 years. Today ain't one of them,' per PEOPLE.

Davis' Past Statements at Centre of Trial

The prosecution's case relies heavily on statements Davis made over the years about his alleged role in the shooting. Jurors have heard evidence from a 2008 police interview in which Davis described being inside the Cadillac and said Anderson fired at Shakur's vehicle.

Prosecutors are also pointing to his later public comments and his 2019 memoir as evidence of his involvement.

Davis' defence has challenged that account, arguing that his stories were exaggerated or invented and that investigators failed to establish a reliable case against him for years. His lawyer has also questioned the lack of physical evidence placing Davis at the scene on the night of the shooting.

Davis is the only living person who was inside the white Cadillac who has been charged in connection with Shakur's death.