Feb 5, 1997406 words · 2 min
Afeni Shakur Takes Aim at Police and Death Row
No house, no car, no killers behind bars: how Afeni Shakur took aim at Las Vegas police and Death Row in February 1997.
Original: “Tupac’s Mother Criticizes Vegas Police, Death Row” · MTV News · no byline · February 5, 1997
Five months after the shooting in Las Vegas, the investigation had stalled-and Tupac’s mother went on the offensive. In early February 1997, MTV rounded up three reports.
Three Suspects, but No Evidence
According to the Los Angeles Times, Las Vegas police had narrowed their list to three men from Los Angeles. Among them was Orlando Anderson, an alleged Compton Crip whom Tupac and his companions had beaten at the MGM Grand hours before the shooting. Investigators believed he had driven the car used in the attack, but lacked hard evidence. Without new witnesses, there was no prospect of an arrest.
“Next to Nothing”: Afeni Shakur on Television
On the ABC program PrimeTime Live, Afeni Shakur came down hard on the police and Death Row. Her son had owned “next to nothing”; the house he believed he had just bought and the beloved Rolls-Royce had not belonged to him at all.
At the same time, Vanity Fair announced a major story on Tupac’s relationship with Death Row and the label’s business practices. Suge Knight’s attorney David Kenner threatened to sue.
No Charges Against Anderson, Murder Conviction in 2026
The suspicion against Anderson never led to charges. He denied any involvement and died in May 1998 in an unrelated shootout in Compton. The role as driver of the car, which investigators attributed to him in 1997, does not match later accounts.
Years later his uncle, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, described for himself who was in the white Cadillac, and on August 31, 2026 was found guilty of murder in Las Vegas (not final, as of October 2026).
$17 Million Lawsuit and a Look Behind the Facade
Afeni’s accusations led a few weeks later to a $17 million lawsuit against Death Row over unpaid royalties. Her core point-that Tupac had owned virtually no wealth of his own despite generating millions in revenue-ran through all subsequent legal proceedings. With the 1997 settlement, she gained control of his unreleased recordings.
The Vanity Fair article appeared in the March 1997 issue under the title “To Die Like A Gangsta.” In it, Robert Sam Anson traced Tupac’s path to Death Row while also describing a lesser-known side: his money for youth projects in Los Angeles.