Reggie Wright Jr., the former head of security at Death Row Records, has pushed back on renewed claims that he helped orchestrate the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur, as the murder trial of Duane "Keefe D" Davis opened in Las Vegas, one of the most closely watched cases in hip-hop history. Wright told AllHipHop the accusations are unsupported and that he had no role in the September 1996 shooting.
Keefe D is on trial over the drive-by shooting, and prosecutors allege he orchestrated it in retaliation after Tupac and his entourage beat up Keefe D's nephew, Orlando Anderson, at the MGM Grand hours earlier. Keefe D's own 2019 memoir, in which he wrote that Tupac's entourage "crossed the line" that night and that he sat in the passenger seat of the Cadillac and passed a gun to the back seat, has become part of the prosecution's case.
Wright says he was not in the entourage and was not at the MGM Grand that night. He also disputes any longstanding relationship with Keefe D, saying the two did not actually meet until years later, outside a grocery store in Southern California. "Hey, little Reg, you know who I am?" Keefe D asked him, Wright told TMZ, recalling that he found the introduction more funny than menacing. Wright worked in law enforcement from 1985 to 1996 and says he had only heard Keefe D's name during that period.
The theory linking Wright to the killing traces back to former LAPD detective Russell Poole, who investigated the case and argued Death Row-connected figures may have been involved. Wright says no working law enforcement officer has ever accused him of involvement in Tupac's death, calling Poole "a disgraced police officer" and noting Poole's theory never led to charges against him. Keefe D has, at various points, also publicly claimed that Wright orchestrated the entire hit, a contradiction prosecutors are expected to raise at trial.
It comes as MusicSuey has also covered Suge Knight's own comments ahead of testifying and Mopreme Shakur's outlook on the case; jury selection in Keefe D's trial began August 10, and the case is expected to run about a month.
The facts
- Reggie Wright Jr. denies orchestrating Tupac Shakur's 1996 killing
- He was Death Row Records' former head of security
- Keefe D's murder trial opened in Las Vegas, jury selection began August 10
- Wright says he was not at the MGM Grand the night of the Anderson beating
- He and Keefe D first met years later at a grocery store
- Wright has never been charged in Tupac's death
- Theories linking Wright to the case trace to the late detective Russell Poole
- Keefe D has himself publicly claimed Wright orchestrated the killing
How this checks out
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