Facts Behind the Murder of Tupac Shakur

Written by former LAPD Detective Russell Poole and Michael Douglas Carlin

THE CRIME:

On September 7th, 1996 Suge Knight was driving a BMW in Las Vegas with Tupac Shakur in the passenger seat. A White Cadillac pulled alongside the car and 13 bullets were fired all over the car. Tupac Shakur was struck multiple times and a bullet lodged in his lung. Tupac Shakur died on September 13, 1996 from wounds sustained from the crime according to the autopsy.

JURISDICTION:

The shooting occurred in Las Vegas.

If there was a conspiracy to kill Tupac then the jurisdiction is where the conspiracy began.

Death Row Records was headquartered in Los Angeles, County so if the conspiracy occurred in LA County then Los Angeles Police, Sheriffs, and the DA’s office have clear jurisdiction.

EVIDENCE OF CONSPIRACY

Evidence examined includes: the records from the Tupac and Biggie LAPD investigation; the Death Row Records Bankruptcy Filings; the Christopher Wallace Estate's civil trial against the City of Los Angeles for wrongful death; secret tape recordings made by bodyguard Frank Alexander in the immediate aftermath of the Shakur shooting; FBI Released Files; various other files, audio and video recordings; and a confession letter written in 1998 that was given to Fox 11 journalist Chris Blatchford.

1.     Reggie Wright disarmed all security guards on the night of the shooting. This was a break from the normal protocol when guarding artists in Las Vegas.

2.     Michael Moore refused the order and insisted on carrying his weapon. He was removed from guarding Tupac Shakur and was ordered to Club 662 where he was to stay close to Reggie Wright.

3.     Michael Moore spoke of standing next to Reggie Wright in front of Club 662 at the time of the shooting and hearing “Got ‘em” coming over the radio – see Tupac Assassination Video.

4.     "'Em" probably refers to both Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight. With 13 shots being fired the shooters probably really thought they “Got ’em”. The Shooting was an immediate failure. Tupac wasn’t killed and Suge was only hit by a bullet fragment.

5.     Bodyguard Frank Alexander was told to lie about the Orlando Anderson incident by Reggie Wright. He told investigators that Orlando had grabbed Tupac’s chain earlier in the evening breaking the chain. That incident morphed into the Orlando Anderson Chain Grab Narrative at the Lakewood Mall. Frank Alexander came clean with Las Vegas Investigators and he was told by the Los Angeles DA’s office and Death Row Records Associates that his life was now in danger. Those conversations were secretly recorded by Frank Alexander. (we have copies of these recordings).

6.     According to the Biggie Smalls Civil Trial Reggie Wright is a suspect in the murder of Christopher Wallace aka Biggie Smalls aka The Notorious BIG.

7.     Reggie Wright Jr. shows up at every one of the interviews of Death Row Records insiders by Las Vegas Police.

8.     Reggie Wright Jr. reveals that off-duty LAPD police worked for Wrightway Security on Death Row Records assignments.

9.     David Kenner rented home of Larry Longo through Frank Longo - Larry's son. Kenner then moves Suge Knight into the home setting up a clear conflict of interest. Larry Longo is fired but cleared of any wrongdoing. The maneuver was clearly orchestrated by Kenner to get Suge’s probation violated in a way that judges abhor. This incident sealed Suge’s fate and he was sentenced to nine years in prison.

10. Chuck Philips wrote about conflict of interest with Larry Longo putting the final nails in Suge Knights probation violation.

11. It is clear in the aftermath of the Tupac and Suge Shooting on September 7, 1996 that Suge Knight no longer trusted Reggie Wright to handle his security. He uses his homeboys instead – a fact that Reggie Wright conveys through Kevin Lewis to LAPD Senior Lead Ken Knox. Using convicted felons as security was a violation of Suge’s probation. Reggie Wright also tells Knox directly that Suge has been traveling out of the country – another probation violation. Reggie is trying desperately to get Suge’s probation revoked.

12. David Kenner bungled Suge's probation hearing sealing Suge's fate in being incarcerated. When they couldn't kill Suge they conspired to send him away.

13. Christopher Wallace aka Biggie Smalls is murdered on a Los Angeles street. The murder is committed to further galvanize the East Coast/West Coast feud and throw investigators off of the trail of actual murderers in Tupac Shakur's murder. The murder may have also been used by Wright to get back into Suge’s good graces.

14. Experience modification from Tupac's murder to Biggie's murder. Gang kids used for Tupac's murder with regular ammo and a wide pattern of bullets. Biggie's murder used a professional assassin with armor piercing ammunition and a tight pattern with almost same drive by tactics.

15. Detective Russell Poole met with resistance inside of LAPD to fully investigate the murder of Christopher Wallace, and to fully investigate corruption of Officer Kevin Gaines by department leadership. He later is pulled off of the cases and reassigned and eventually pushed out of the department. His reports on the incidents are gutted and much of the information disappears along with Frank Lygga's personnel package.

16. Reggie Wright Jr. was second in command at Death Row Records and ended up running record label after Suge was incarcerated by maneuvering himself into that position. The chaos at Death Row Records that began October 22nd when Suge is arrested and put in jail, ends when Wright is put in charge.

17. Ken Knox, Senior Lead, details in a police report that New Jersey Crips and Los Angeles Bloods are together in Death Row's CAN-AM Studios together a few weeks before Yak Fula is assassinated in New Jersey. David Kenner is contacted by Las Vegas Police to arrange the interview of Yak Fula. Kenner never arranges the interview and Fula is killed before Las Vegas Investigators can find him on their own.

18. Murders in immediate aftermath of Tupac Shakur's murder were those affiliated, witnesses, or with knowledge of the murder. Murder's before Suge was released from prison were those who were Suge's inner circle to weaken Suge from putting together muscle to retaliate upon his release.

19. According to Kevin Hackie the gun used to kill Tupac Shakur was a Glock .40 that was confiscated by an off-duty Santa Monica Police Officer during a routine search at the House of Blues of Hussein Fatal, one of Tupac's Outlawz. The gun was ballistics tested by the FBI before being released to Kevin Hackie who subsequently gave the gun to Reggie Wright Jr. According to Hackie the ballistics from the murder were matched with the gun used in the Tupac murder. Timeline on the gun looks like this: July 4th, 1996 at the House of Blues Hussein Fatal is detained for possession of a firearm when he attempts to enter the venue with the gun. Late July Reggie Wright contacts Kevin Hackie and asks him to keep tabs on the weapon. The weapon is ballistics tested and run through the crime database. No match for a crime is found at that time. Sometime in August Santa Monica Police contact Kevin Hackie and tell him the gun is cleared for pickup. He retrieves the gun and takes it to his handlers at the FBI and ATF. They clear him to release the gun to Reggie Wright Jr. He gives the gun to Wright. On September 7, 1996 the gun is used to kill Rapper Tupac Shakur. When Las Vegas Police book shell casings and bullets into evidence they are sent off to the FBI where they are ballistics tested. They are run through the federal database where they match the gun confiscated by the House of Blues. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMv36k2RoVU

20. The Dannemora Contract was signed by Suge Knight on September 15th and by Tupac Shakur on September 16th meaning that this contract was written the day before Suge and Kenner visited Tupac Shakur. They intended for this contract to be vague so they could steal Tupac's money. Evidence of that theft surfaced after Tupac's death. The theft would become a problem for David Kenner as this contract was a clear conflict of interest for Kenner that could have led to his disbarment.

21. David Kenner was terminated by Tupac Shakur days before Tupac's Murder.

22. Tupac made it clear in New York, four days before his murder, that he was leaving Death Row Records.

23. Evidence of theft of Tupac's money emerges months after Tupac's murder as Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur, begins digging into Tupac's business affairs.

24. Michael Harris was beginning to send thugs to visit Suge requesting repayment of original investment and profits from the record label. Suge's inner circle was turning them away.

25. Waymond Anderson says that Michael and Lydia Harris were part of a plot to overthrow Death Row Records at the time that Tupac Shakur was killed.

26. Sharitha would have inherited Suge Knight's shares in Death Row Records. At the time Death Row Records was worth as much as $500 Million.

27. FBI, ATF, and LAPD were all investigating Death Row Records at the time of Tupac Murder and the attempt on Suge Knight. Those investigations would have probably stopped if Suge Knight was killed leaving Sharitha and Reggie to run the record label without interference.

28. Sharitha Knight was dating Officer Kevin Gaines at the time of Tupac's murder. Snoop was on trial for murder that same year. Snoop was acquitted when evidence disappeared from an evidence locker at LAPD that Gaines had access to. Gaines was gunned down by officer Frank Lygga who later said the murder was a sanctioned hit ordered by LAPD brass specifically Police Chief Bernard Parks. Lygga recanted this statement.

29. Sharitha Knight was Snoop Dogg's manager at time of Murder. Snoop began the narrative that Suge was responsible for Tupac’s murder. Snoop told Sheriff's that Suge Knight was responsible for Tupac's murder to throw investigators off of trail. This incident happened at the Universal Amphitheater on May 14^th, 1998. The report is available on line.

30. Snoop had an altercation with Suge and Snoop just four days before the 1996 shooting. He rode back on the plane and constantly asked Tupac if he was going to Las Vegas. http://uproxx.com/smokingsection/2013/05/snoop-dogg-talks-tupac-beef/

31. Frank Alexander secret recordings of his telephone calls with Death Row Insiders and reporter Chuck Philips give insight into interworking of Death Row Records and their ties to Philips in creating false stories that are planted in the LA Times. Chuck Philips is dismissed when he is caught fabricating a story about the murder of Tupac Shakur thus solidifying the planting of stories to throw investigators and public opinion off of the trail of the real killers of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls.

32. Reggie Wright Jr. has ties through his father to Compton Police who attempted to steer the investigation toward a conclusion that Orlando Anderson was the shooter in the murder of Tupac Shakur. Orlando Anderson has an airtight alibi as Las Vegas has cameras everywhere. Cory Edwards tells of seeing Orlando Anderson at the bar about the time of the shooting. Las Vegas Police are handed Orlando Anderson by Compton Police during a raid. They are expected by Compton Police to arrest him as he is being handed up on a silver platter as the shooter. Las Vegas Police are not even interested in him because they already know about his airtight alibi. Compton Police also steered the investigation in the El Rey Theater murder of Kelly Jamerson and stopped LAPD investigators from issuing indictments.

33. Confession Letter to the murder of Tupac Shakur and attempt to murder Suge Knight is written in 1998 as dictated by Malcolm Patton (one of the shooters) and given to Fox 11 journalist Chris Blatchford. Chris Blatchford also talks to Malcolm Patton about the murder and provides a written statement on his conversations. That letter details that the conspiracy to commit murder began in Balboa Park clearly giving Los Angeles jurisdiction over this case.

34. On June 24, 2014 Russell Poole and RJ Bond met with four representatives from LAPD and provided them with a copy of the confession letter. They place special marking on the letter and receive assurances that the information will be investigated. Instead it is leaked. Six days after the letter appears on the Internet Suge Knight is shot in a West Hollywood Nightclub by assailants that yell, “You killed Tupac” as they fire shots at Knight.

35. The attempt to derail the Confession Letter is traced back to Reggie Wright Jr. Daryn Dupree (one of the cops that Russell and RJ gave the confession letter to) was Greg Kading's partner who is a close friend and apologist of Reggie Wright Jr. implicated in the letter as responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur and the attempt on Suge Knight on September 7, 1996. Greg Kading was first person to talk about letter on Internet after it was given to LAPD. The confession letter, given to LAPD, had special markings that appeared on the Internet with those markings. The LAPD leak is clearly documented and is the subject of an Internal Affairs investigation CF NO. 14-001995. Keep in mind that Daryn Dupree illegally accessed LAPD computers and cloned cell phones and was reprimanded by LAPD and Greg Kading was responsible for overturning the George Torres-Ramos case by what the judge said was his "reckless disregard for the truth."

36. Confession Letter points to Reggie Wright Junior's Coup ‘d’état at Death Row Records and heist of Tupac Shakur's music.

37. Confession Letter points to Sharitha Knight complicit in plot.

38. David Kenner is also implicated by Confession Letter. Robert Soria says Kenner was at the meeting with gangs.

39. The book "Murder Rap" is released that pins the murders of Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace on the dead guys. The book is written by Greg Kading who is close to Reggie Wright Jr. - a suspect in the Biggie Smalls Killing and is now a suspect in the Tupac Shakur Killing. Greg Kading admits in the book that he had no access to the Christopher Wallace Civil Trial documents which excludes the most significant portion of the case. The book follows the same story line as the previously planted stories by LA Times journalist Chuck Philips. Greg Kading is also the former lead detective on the Christpher Wallace homicide and previous partner of Daryn Dupree. Dupree is the cop that leaked the confession letter to Kading. Kading had an additional motive to derail the confession letter -- his book and movie deal that would prove worthless if the case is solved in an alternate way. Kading contacts journalist Chris Blatchford and further attempts to derail the letter with Chris. His emails are very similar to the Chuck Philips secret tape recording made by Frank Alexander where instead of asking questions they attempt to sell a conclusion.

40. Mario Hammonds, Kevin Hackie, Psycho Mike, Kenny Boagni are all discredited without specific evidence even though many of their testimony is considered credible in other investigations including clearing LAPD officers in board of rights hearings for wrongdoing. They all provide specific evidence of LAPD Police involvement in murder of Christopher Wallace organized by Reggie Wright Jr.

41. First Civil trial in Estate of Christopher Wallace is declared a mistrial when evidence is suppressed by City of Los Angeles and LAPD specifically in wrongful death of Wallace. Evidence pointed to involvement of off duty police and Reggie Wright Jr. in murder of Christopher Wallace.

42. Second Civil trial in Estate of Christopher Wallace is dismissed with promise by City of Los Angeles and LAPD that they would redouble investigation. They tell lead investigator to shut down the case 24 hours after the settlement.

43. Confession letter indicates that Reggie Wright Jr. selected Lil' Half Dead to murder Tupac Shakur because of a previous interaction between Lil' Half Dead and Tupac where Tupac stole a song from him. Sampling and theft appear to have been a common practice in the early roots of Rap music.

44. Since the first draft of the book two witnesses have come forward. One of them states that she saw and talked to Rafael Perez on the night before the murder of Christopher Wallace and the night of the murder. She was afraid to come forward earlier because she was in fear of her life. We have also had a rapper tweet to us that he knows that Snoop had prior knowledge of the murder of Tupac Shakur before that murder happened.

45. According to the confession letter the conspiracy began in Los Angeles. One incident was documented as a gang summit in Balboa Park where Reggie Wright Jr. asked the gangs for permission to kill both Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight. Chris Blatchford tells that those behind this plot included David Kenner, Reggie Wright Jr., and Sharitha Knight. At that summit it was decided that Donald Smith aka Lil Half Dead, Malcolm Patton and Danny Patton aka Whiteboy would be the shooters.

MOTIVE:

Theft of Tupac's money and music as well as the control of Death Row Records was the major motive. Both Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight were in the crosshairs that night. Keep in mind that Death Row Records was worth over 500 million dollars at the time and Tupac had unreleased but completed songs in the vault that were worth an additional couple of hundred million dollars. Donald Smith aka Lil' Half Dead had the additional motive of the theft of his music by Tupac Shakur and had recently had his contract sold to Priority Records by Suge Knight. Danny Patton was paid $100,000 for the murder.

SUSPECTS:

Donald Smith aka Lil' Half Dead was the alleged triggerman on September 7th, 1996 responsible for killing Tupac Shakur. Smith is the cousin of Calvin Broadus aka Snoop Dogg. Smith was represented by Suge Knight and Death Row Records and his contract was sold off to Priority Records. He had given a demo tape to Tupac and two of his songs were stolen by Tupac according to the confession letter. Theft in the Hip-Hop world was a common practice at that time. Smith is affiliated with the Long Beach Crips. Snoop Dogg, Donald Smith's cousin, tells Sheriff's deputies on May 14, 1998 that Suge Knight was behind the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. Was this to throw law enforcement off the trail of his cousin?

  

Malcolm Patton was the shooter that was supposed to take out Suge Knight. He shot twice and missed his target. He spoke to Chris Blatchford over the telephone and offered to provide him with details about guns, shooters, clothes, cars, and routes.

Danny Patton aka Whiteboy was allegedly paid $100,000 for the hit in the form of a cashier's check. Danny's gun jammed. Danny Patton is a Leuder's Park Piru Blood.

Reggie Wright Jr. allegedly attended the gang summit and paid the $100,000 bounty to Danny Patton. Reggie was responsible for disarming all of Tupac's bodyguards that night. He also attended every single meeting between witnesses and the Las Vegas Police. Reggie Wright Jr. worked previously for the Compton Jail and then the Compton Police. His father, Reggie Wright Sr. was in charge of the gang unit inside of Compton Police and was absorbed by the Sheriff's Department when it was learned that corruption existed within Compton PD. LAPD's Detective Fred Miller stated that Reggie Wright Jr. was known to control the drug trade in Compton. Reggie was also known to rob drug dealers of their drugs and money instead of busting them. He left the Compton Police on a worker's comp claim. Kevin Hackie claims he handed the weapon used in the Tupac killing to Reggie Wright two weeks before the killing. Hackie claims that the weapon had been ballistics tested a month before the killing and that ballistics test matched the ballistics of the Tupac Shakur murder. Reggie was at Club 662 at the time of the shooting. Michael Moore, a Tupac bodyguard, was next to Reggie Wright when the shooting happened and heard "Got 'em" coming over Reggie Wright's radio. He then heard someone he describes as "white" say, "don't say nothin' over the radio." "Got 'em" probably referred to Suge Knight and Tupac Shakur at the time of the shooting because with 13 bullets launched they really thought they "Got 'em." We have a tape of one of the security guards that worked for Reggie Wright Jr. stating that he had turned to the dark side and had the red carpet installed in his office indicating that he had accepted membership into the Bloods gang. The confession letter places Reggie Wright at the gang summit asking directly for permission to kill both Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight. The confession letter was given to LAPD and instead of being investigated it was leaked by a cop with direct ties back to Reggie Wright Jr.

Sharitha Knight was estranged from Suge Knight and was dating LAPD Officer Kevin Gaines at the time of Tupac's death. Kevin Gaines was killed by Officer Frank Lygga on March 18th 1997. Sharitha was the manager of Snoop Dogg. Snoop Dogg's trial for murder centered around evidence that disappeared from the LAPD evidence locker at the precinct that Kevin Gaines had access to. Sharitha would have inherited the shares of Death Row Records if Suge Knight had been killed on September 7th, 1996. One of our rapper followers reached out a month ago via Twitter and said that Snoop was warned by Sharitha not to come to Las Vegas that night. Snoop also asked Tupac over and over on September 4th, 1996 if he was attending the event in Las Vegas. Chris Blatchford says the shooters said Sharitha was behind the murder of Tupac Shakur and attempt on Suge Knight's life on September 7th 1996. While being managed by Sharitha Knight, Snoop tells Sheriff's deputies on May 1, 1998 that Suge Knight was behind the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.

David Kenner was the attorney of record for Death Row Records, Suge Knight's attorney, Tupac's Attorney until he was fired August 27th, 1996 just days prior to Tupac being shot. Kenner was also Snoop Dogg's attorney who pulled a miracle defense when the evidence disappeared from the LAPD evidence locker. If Kenner was involved in the murder of Tupac and attempted murder of Suge Knight on September 7th, 1996 he would be representing Suge Knight currently with a severe conflict of interest. It could be that he is now reunited with Suge Knight to protect his own interests by steering any investigation into the murder of Tupac and attempted murder on Suge Knight. Kenner was the person that rented the home from Frank Longo that was owned by Larry Longo from the D.A.'s office. Kenner moved Suge into that house and caused a dime to be dropped on Suge. That conflict of interest was reported in the Los Angeles Times causing embarrassment to the D.A.'s office. David Kenner's representation of Tupac Shakur was a direct conflict of interest to his representation of Suge Knight and Death Row Records. Kenner could have faced disbarment for this conflict of interest if Tupac Shakur had lived.