On the night of September 7, 1996, Frank Alexander was driving in the car directly behind Tupac Shakur’s BMW when the shots were fired at the intersection with Koval Lane. Hardly anyone had seen Tupac up close as often in his final year as his primary bodyguard at Death Row Records, and he was on duty that night in Las Vegas. Later, he recounted the events again and again in a book and several films. Yet his story also shows how difficult it was to be a witness in Tupac’s circle: to some he was the man who had failed, to the police a witness who said one thing and then another.
From Chicago to Tupac’s Side
Alexander, whom everyone called “Big Frank,” came from Chicago. He found his way out of the poor neighborhoods through the Marines, as Kirkus Reviews noted in its review of his book. Later, he worked as a prison guard in Southern California; the Las Vegas Sun also described him in 1997 as a former reserve deputy with the Orange County Sheriff. The bodybuilder eventually made personal protection his profession.
In 1995, he began working for Suge Knight and Death Row. When Tupac was released from prison in October 1995 and signed with the label, Alexander soon became his primary bodyguard. On his later website, he called himself Tupac’s “handpicked personal bodyguard.” He accompanied him to the studio, to performances, and on trips, such as to fashion week in Milan in June 1996 with Kidada Jones.
September 7, 1996: Unarmed Behind the BMW
On the evening of the Tyson vs. Seldon boxing match, Alexander accompanied Tupac into the arena at the MGM Grand. He was unarmed. Why this was the case has two versions: Reggie Wright Jr., then head of security at Death Row, later said the bodyguards could not obtain gun licenses in Nevada. Alexander himself wrote that weapons were banned only inside Club 662; guards were allowed to leave them in the hotel room or in the car.
After the brawl in the hotel lobby, Tupac got into the BMW with Suge Knight. Alexander was not in the car. By his own account, he was not driving his own car that evening, but a vehicle belonging to friends of Kidada Jones, directly behind the BMW, with E.D.I. Mean and Yaki Kadafi as passengers. At the intersection of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane, the shots were ultimately fired from the white Cadillac (see The Las Vegas Shooting 1996).
At the trial of Duane Davis, Reggie Wright Jr. confirmed on August 18, 2026, that Alexander had been assigned to Tupac that night and was the only man from his company at Tupac’s side. After the brawl at the MGM Grand, Alexander had not called him.
First “Absolutely Not,” Then Eight Photo Lineups Without a Match
On the night of the crime, Alexander was questioned by police. Asked whether he could identify the shooters, he answered, according to police: “Absolutely not.” In late February 1997, by contrast, he told the Los Angeles Times that he might be able to identify the shooter, but that police had never shown him any photos. The Las Vegas police confronted him with his initial words (Two Witnesses, Two Versions).
The meeting took place anyway. On March 19, 1997, investigators presented him with eight photo lineups at a restaurant in Orange County. He recognized no one. That was all that remained of Alexander as a witness: decades later, the case was reopened through the statements of Duane Davis, not through the companions in the convoy.
From Accusations of Failure to Conspiracy Theory
After Tupac’s death, Death Row turned away from Alexander. In his book, he complains that he was dropped and branded as the man who allowed Tupac to be shot. He wrote the book Got Your Back with journalist Heidi Siegmund Cuda; it was published in 1998. Critics praised its closeness to Tupac, but found the tone at times sentimental, at times trapped in cliché itself. The film Before I Wake (2001) followed.
In 2007, Alexander released Tupac Assassination with filmmaker Richard Bond, a pointed series asserting the theory that security around Tupac had been deliberately weakened that night; the trail led to Reggie Wright Jr. Wright rejected this and accused Alexander in return of failing to protect Tupac properly himself and of exploiting his death.
There was never any evidence for the theory, and Wright was never accused or charged. When the prosecutor asked him under oath in 2026 whether he had anything to do with the murder, he answered: “Absolutely not.” He also said that had he known of an attack, he would have placed an “army” around Tupac.
Death in 2013 and a Hard Drive at Auction
On April 28, 2013, Frank Alexander was found dead in his home in Murrieta, California. He was 54 years old. According to Lieutenant Tony Conrad, Murrieta police assumed it was a suicide; the final determination rested with the Riverside County coroner. A published final finding is not available in the reports. Anyone experiencing a crisis can find help via the Telefonseelsorge hotline at 0800 111 0 111.
Alexander’s material remained in circulation after that. In December 2021, an auction house offered a hard drive from his estate containing photos and videos from Tupac’s final years and an excerpt of an unreleased song (report).
The 2026 Verdict: No Room for Alexander’s Theories
In August 2026, the Las Vegas jury accepted the version according to which the shooters came from the Cadillac and acted in revenge for the beating at the MGM Grand. Duane “Keffe D” Davis was found guilty on August 31, 2026, of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon; sentencing is set for October 13, 2026, Davis denies the crime and has announced an appeal, and the verdict is not final.
The court found no room for the conspiracy theory from Alexander’s films. His memories of Tupac’s final year nonetheless remain one of the few accounts from up close. More: The Trial of Duane Davis and Suspects at a Glance.