The shooting that claimed Tupac Shakur unfolded with a rapid pace that left Ingrid Stokes still attempting to switch seats with a friend when the first shots rang out. Testifying Monday in Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis’s murder trial, Stokes, a witness whose testimony is crucial to the prosecution’s case, provided a detailed account of the confusion on the Las Vegas Strip and described nearly colliding with a white four-door vehicle as her group tried to escape. Court reporter Meghann Cuniff shared Stokes’ testimony after attending the proceedings, detailing the events leading up to the incident. Stokes stated she was in a convertible with three friends on September 7, 1996, when the group encountered Tupac and Suge Knight. One of the women, identified as a member of Tupac’s entourage, knew Knight, and the group planned to meet him and Tupac at Club 662. Their convertible eventually moved ahead of Knight’s BMW as the cars traveled near Flamingo Road and Koval Lane. Stokes and another woman were preparing to change positions in the convertible so Stokes could drive when the shooting started. “Me and Shalane were literally head down taking our seatbelts off when we heard the gunshots,” Stokes testified. “And that was when all hell broke loose.” A post shared by Meghann M. Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) revealed that the group was attempting to escape the scene, and Stokes described the experience as a chaotic and frightening moment. She remembered screaming and pulling her friend down as the woman froze behind the wheel. Stokes said she could not recall exactly how many shots she heard. Her immediate concern was getting everyone away from the gunfire. “I know I put the car in drive, and I told them, ‘Get the hell out of there and drive,’” she testified. “And so, I may have even grabbed the wheel.” Their attempt to flee put them within inches of another vehicle. Stokes told prosecutors there was a white four-door car in the turning lane and said the convertible almost struck it while getting away. Investigators similarly received witness descriptions of a white Cadillac leaving the scene, and prosecutors now allege Davis was riding in that vehicle with three other men. Stokes could not tell jurors who was inside the white car she saw. That is significant because her testimony does not identify Davis or establish who fired at Tupac. Instead, it gives prosecutors another eyewitness account placing a white four-door vehicle near the BMW at the moment of the shooting. Former Las Vegas homicide detective Brent Becker testified that investigators received similar descriptions in 1996 but were unable to get a surviving witness to identify the occupants or shooter. Stokes and her friends eventually returned to the scene. She testified that police made them sit on the sidewalk and initially treated them like suspects. She was also worried about being publicly seen cooperating with investigators, telling the court, “Snitches get stitches.” Nearly three decades later, the defense pressed her on how much of that night she could still reliably remember. Attorney Michael Sanft questioned Stokes about conversations with her friend and a documentary appearance she made years after the murder. Stokes acknowledged that she and her friends did not regularly revisit what happened. The testimony provided a crucial piece of evidence in the ongoing legal proceedings, offering a detailed account of the events that unfolded during the shooting and potentially impacting the prosecution’s case against Tupac Shakur.
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Source: HotNewHipHop
