The official witness list for Duane Keith “Keffe D” Davis‘ looming trial in the shooting death of hip-hop superstar Tupac Shakur in 1996 has been released.

The trial is set to begin Monday, Aug. 10, and last through September, during which prosecutors in Clark County, Nevada, plan to call several people to the stand, according to an Aug. 4 supplemental witness list obtained by USA TODAY.

The filing reportedly includes more than 200 names, including Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ former bodyguard and Death Row Records cofounder Marion “Suge” Knight, who has said he “wouldn’t testify.”

Shakur was killed Sept. 7, 1996, in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Nearly three decades later, Davis faces one count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. Prosecutors say he provided the weapon and is the person who instructed the South Side Crips street gang to shoot from the car. He has pleaded not guilty.

Here are some of the most notable potential witnesses in Tupac’s murder trial.

Marion ‘Suge’ Knight

Former record exec Knight was in the car with Shakur the night of Sept. 7, 1996, when both were shot. The rapper died days later, and Knight survived.

At the time, Shakur was signed to music label Death Row Records, where cofounder Knight was CEO. The music executive and the label also were accused of being affiliated with the Bloods street gang in Los Angeles, a rival of the South Side Crips.

Earlier on the night of the shooting, Shakur, Knight and members of the Bloods attacked the nephew of the then-leader of the Crips, defendant Duane Keith “Keffe D” Davis. Hours later, Shakur and Knight were shot in what many speculate was retaliation.

In the years since, Knight, who is serving an unrelated 28-year prison sentence for voluntary manslaughter in a 2015 hit-and-run, has not spoken about the incident. In 2023, he told TMZ, “I wouldn’t testify, none of that.” He added, “1000% I wouldn’t go.”

Kirk Burrowes

In September 1996, Kirk Burrowes was president of Bad Boy Records, which he cofounded with Diddy in 1993. The New York-based label was allegedly connected with the Crips gang and had a long-standing rivalry with Knight’s Bloods-affiliated Death Row Records, which signed Shakur to a multimillion-dollar contract in 1995.

Conspiracies about the two labels’ conflict grew even stronger when, about six months after Shakur died, Bad Boy rapper Biggie Smalls, also known as The Notorious B.I.G., was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. Smalls, like Shakur, was at the height of his fame when he was murdered.

In a 2003 lawsuit, Burrowes alleged Combs “orchestrated” Shakur’s shooting. In a civil suit filed last year, Burrowes said he “witnessed instances in which Combs expressed paranoia and frustration over Shakur’s success, indicating a deep-seated need to diminish his rival’s influence.”

The suit further said that “Combs allegedly made statements to insiders suggesting that Shakur’s presence in the industry threatened his legacy, leading him to take increasingly aggressive measures to overshadow and eliminate competition.”

Davis also said in an interview with police that Combs placed a $1 million hit on Shakur and Knight, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration report filed in court in 2025 and obtained by USA TODAY.

Combs has denied allegations of any involvement in Shakur’s death, and a spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told USA TODAY Combs has never been a suspect. 

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ bodyguard

Eugene “Gene” Deal was Combs’ bodyguard at the time of Shakur’s murder. He has spoken about the night of the shooting and the dynamics between Shakur and others in his circle in several interviews over the years.

Combs is serving a 50-month prison sentence for his conviction in July 2025 on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Though Deal did not testify in the trial, he attended several days of the proceedings.

Reggie Wright Jr.

Reggie Wright Jr. is a former police officer in Compton, California, and was the head of security at Death Row Records in 1996. He testified before the grand jury that indicted Davis, saying he witnessed a heated exchange between Combs and Knight, who was allegedly touting Death Row Records’ superiority to Bad Boy Records, in 1995.

“I was there, standing right there,” Wright testified. “And [Combs] approached [Knight] like: ‘Hey, what’s going on? Why you dissing me in front of everybody like that?'”

Davis has accused Wright of orchestrating the shooting of Shakur and Knight, which Wright vehemently denied.

“Good luck finding someone saying that, that’s credible,” he told ABC in February 2025. “It’s heartbreaking they keep dragging in my name. I didn’t have anything to do with that. One of the worst days of my life when I heard that that happened.”

Tupac Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa Shakur

Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, is expected to testify, along with other members of the family, including his stepbrother Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur and cousin Katari Cox.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo

Joe Lombardo, a former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer and sheriff, is now the Republican governor of Nevada. He took office shortly before Davis’ arrest.

Attorney Ross Goodman

Ross Goodman is a prominent criminal defense attorney in Las Vegas who briefly appeared in court for Davis in the early stages of his case before official counsel was selected. Oscar Goodman, Ross Goodman’s father and the mayor of Las Vegas from 1999 to 2011, is also on the witness list.

Yusuf Jah

Yusuf Jah was the coauthor of Davis’ 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend: Notorious Keffe D’s Street-Level Accounts of Tupac and Biggie Murders, Death Row Origins, Suge Knight, Puffy Combs, and Crooked Cops,” in which Davis admitted being in the car and providing the weapon used to shoot Shakur.

His team tried to have the book excluded from the trial, arguing Davis’ account of the shooting could have been misrepresented because he had a coauthor. Prosecutors pushed back, saying “everything” was admissible because Davis “chose to release it to the public and profit off it,” and he reviewed and approved the manuscript before publishing.

The judge ruled in the prosecution’s favor, and the memoir will be presented during trial.

Former LAPD Detective Greg Kading

Greg Kading is a retired detective with the Los Angeles Police Department who spoke with Davis in 2009 while investigating the death of The Notorious B.I.G., whose case remains unsolved. During the interview, Davis allegedly confessed to his role in Shakur’s murder.

Davis’ legal team, however, argued that it was an “involuntary confession” he made when “in a position that he was afraid for himself and his family.” Davis also wrote in his book that he only “sang because they promised I would not be prosecuted.”

Other noteworthy Tupac murder trial witnesses

Paula Clemons, Davis’ wife, is on the witness list, along with experts, law enforcement officers and Leonard Jefferson, who took the last-ever photo of Shakur minutes before he was shot. Directors and producers of documentaries on Shakur’s murder are also set to be called to testify.

Contributing: Gina Barton