Tupac murder trial: Accused told police in 2008 his nephew fired fatal shots

The man accused of orchestrating the murder of Tupac Shakur told police more than a decade later that he handed the gun used in the drive-by shooting to a passenger who then passed it to his nephew who opened fire on the rapper.

Duane "Keffe D" Davis is on trial in Las Vegas, charged with one count of murder with a deadly weapon over the killing of the rap superstar in 1996. On Thursday jurors heard a recording of a police interview with Davis in 2008.

Prosecutors on Thursday played the 2008 interview Davis conducted with Los Angeles Police detectives Daryn Dupree and Greg Kading, who were investigating the death of another rapper, Chris Wallace aka The Notorious B.I.G.

Davis described the moment the Cadillac he was a passenger in stopped alongside the car Shakur was in.

"Yeah, if we would've been on my side, I would've blasted," Davis said, according to a transcript.

According to the transcript, Davis said in the interview he passed his gun back to Deandre "Big Dre" Smith, but Smith did not want the weapon.

Anderson, who was also in the back seat, took the weapon and started firing, Davis said.

One of the detectives, Kading, told Davis in reference to a deal for his information: "Nothing you say today can be used against you."

But prosecutors say any agreement was negated when Davis went public with his version in his memoir several years later.

The prosecutor said the book shows Davis was "mad" after his nephew was involved in a fight with Shakur in a Las Vegas casino, with Davis writing: "Them jumping on my nephew gave us the ultimate green light to do something to their ass."

In the interview played to court, Davis said he repeatedly spoke with Sean "Diddy" Combs and discussed killing Shakur.

The detectives questioned Davis about meetings with Combs during Bad Boy Records tour stops in San Diego, Anaheim, Irvine and Las Vegas.

"Which of those four is it when you talk to him about murdering Tupac?" Kading asked, according to a transcript shown in court, as reported by Reuters.

"It was really about both of them, yeah, either one of them," Davis responded.

"Tupac and Suge?" Kading asked, referring to Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight, who was with Shakur in the vehicle during the shooting.

"Yeah," Davis responded.

Representatives for Combs did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

His lawyer Michael Sanft has argued that what his client had previously said of his involvement cannot be believed.

A former Las Vegas homicide detective told the jury earlier this week that no witnesses had been able to identify the shooter.