Suge Knight is refusing to testify in the upcoming murder trial of the man accused of killing Tupac Shakur, despite being the only known living eyewitness to the 1996 shooting, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The former Death Row Records boss, who is serving a 28-year sentence for an unrelated conviction, said taking the stand could have serious consequences for whoever forces him into court.
Knight made his position unmistakably clear in a recent interview, saying he has no intention of voluntarily cooperating with either side as Duane “Keffe D” Davis prepares to face a jury in Las Vegas.
“This trial has nothing to do with me and if somebody brings me there, it’s gonna hurt whoever brings me there,” Knight told ABC News. “I promise you that.”
The 61-year-old was behind the wheel of the BMW carrying Shakur when gunfire erupted on the Las Vegas Strip on September 7, 1996.
Knight was wounded in the attack, while Shakur suffered critical injuries and died six days later.
Nearly three decades later, Knight says he still wants to stay out of the courtroom.
“They make me come there against my will, if Keffe D’s lawyers bring me there, it don’t look good for him. If the prosecution brings me there, it don’t look good for them,” he said. “Leave me out of it.”
The trial centers on allegations that Davis ordered members of his group to retaliate against Shakur following a confrontation inside the MGM Grand.
Earlier that night, Shakur and Knight encountered Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, Davis’ nephew, after an alleged dispute involving a Death Row Records pendant. Security footage captured the confrontation, which authorities have said became a possible motive for the shooting that followed.
Prosecutors allege Davis and others later tracked down Shakur and Knight. The pair was eventually attacked while riding through Las Vegas, with gunfire striking their BMW at a traffic light.
Knight, who was also affiliated with the Bloods during his years in Compton, said his refusal to testify has nothing to do with protecting Davis.
“My loyalty to Tupac can never be compromised. Me as a man, what I believe in, can’t be compromised. I’m not there to help (Davis), and I’m d— not there to hurt him,” Knight said.
Knight then explained why identifying another person from the witness stand would cross a line for him.
“To actually get on the stand, and point somebody out, it’s worse than taking a gun and shooting that man in the head,” he said. “Because if you shoot a person in the head, they die once. If you get on the stand and you snitch on that person, they die a million times.”
Davis was arrested in 2023 after years of investigators being unable to bring charges for Shakur’s death.
Authorities accuse the former Southside Crips leader of murder with a deadly weapon and a gang enhancement.
Davis has pleaded not guilty. Although he has previously made public statements describing his alleged involvement in the shooting, he later claimed those admissions were false.
Knight, however, appeared unimpressed by Davis’ changing account of what happened that night.
“Everything he said and talked about, he already told on himself,” Knight said. “So what are you going to do? Erase all the recordings of the interviews he did?”
Still, Knight insists he will not take responsibility for what happens to Davis if prosecutors ultimately secure a conviction.
“I am not going to be responsible for sending another man to prison for the rest of his life,” he said. “If God’s forgiving, who am I to think I’m bigger than God and don’t forgive? Because I’m not.”
Davis’ trial is expected to last four weeks, and Knight remains a potential witness prosecutors could call.
For Knight, however, the legal proceedings are secondary to the personal loss he has carried for nearly 30 years.
“There’s not a day that goes by that me, personally, doesn’t think about Tupac, or I miss Tupac,” he said. “That’s my brother.”