Mob James Explains Reluctance to Testify in Tupac Shakur Murder Trial: ‘I Didn’t Want to Send a Black Man to Prison’

Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis (left) and Tupac Shakur (right).

Former Death Row Records associate James “Mob James” McDonald took the witness stand in the murder trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis on Tuesday, Aug. 18, but made it clear that testifying was something he never wanted to do.

McDonald, 61, who once provided informal “under the table” security for Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight, testified about the events surrounding the 1996 fatal shooting of Tupac Shakur. Although he told jurors that he knew “everybody that was there” on the night Shakur was shot, he repeatedly resisted identifying people whose names, he believed, could help send Davis to prison.

Speaking to PEOPLE after leaving court, McDonald explained that his reluctance came partly from his own experience with incarceration.

“I didn’t want to come,” he said, explaining that his life now centers around his faith, raising his children and spending time with his grandchildren.

According to McDonald, he appeared only because authorities told him he could face jail if he refused to testify.

“But my whole thing today… I didn’t want to send a Black man to prison because I have been incarcerated myself,” he said. “The penitentiary didn’t help me do nothing.”

Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder with use of a deadly weapon in connection with Shakur’s killing. He has remained in custody since his arrest in 2023.

McDonald stressed that although he and Davis do not like each other, he does not want to be personally responsible for putting him behind bars.

“I don’t like Keffe D but I don’t wish that on him,” McDonald said.

He argued that Davis’ own public statements about the killing should speak for themselves.

“The proof is in the pudding,” McDonald said, referring to Davis repeatedly discussing his alleged involvement in the events surrounding Shakur’s death. “But I’m not going to be the one to send him to prison.”

Mob James Resists Naming People in Court

McDonald’s reluctance was evident during his testimony.

He told the court that he had been working at Club 662, Knight’s nightclub in Las Vegas, when he learned that Shakur and Knight had been wounded in a drive-by shooting on Sept. 7, 1996.

While being questioned by Davis’ defense attorney, Michael Sanft, McDonald became increasingly frustrated when asked questions he believed could damage Davis’ defense.

“Are you sure you want me to answer that?” McDonald asked at one point.

He then directly told Sanft that some of the questions could hurt his own client.

“I don’t want to send him to prison, even though we don’t like each other,” McDonald said. “You’re asking me questions that can hurt him.”

When Sanft asked whether McDonald knew who had been present after the shooting, McDonald replied, “I know everybody that was there.”

But when asked to identify those people, McDonald refused.

He reportedly turned toward Davis and told him to speak to his attorney.

“I’m not gonna explain that,” McDonald said. “I can’t answer that. I’m not gonna send him to prison.”

Gang Violence Followed Tupac’s Shooting

McDonald also testified about the violent aftermath of Shakur’s shooting.

He was formerly associated with the Mob Piru Bloods, the gang connected to Knight. Davis, meanwhile, was a high-ranking member of the South Side Compton Crips.

According to McDonald, tensions exploded after Shakur was shot.

“When we got back to Compton, it was a gang war,” he testified. “People were getting hurt. People were looking for certain individuals.”

Among those being sought, he said, was Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson.

Prosecutors allege that Shakur’s shooting was retaliation for an altercation involving Anderson inside the MGM Grand earlier that evening.

After a Mike Tyson boxing match, Shakur, Knight and members of their entourage encountered Anderson inside the casino.

McDonald told PEOPLE that Shakur did not personally know Anderson or Davis before the confrontation.

“Tupac didn’t know Orlando. He didn’t know Keffe D. He ain’t never seen these people,” McDonald said.

According to McDonald, the confrontation was connected to allegations that Anderson had previously attempted to take a Death Row Records chain belonging to Trevon “Tre” Lane, an associate who had received the chain from Knight.

McDonald claimed that someone pointed Anderson out to Shakur and identified him as the person allegedly connected to the chain incident.

Shakur then joined the confrontation.

McDonald believes that decision ultimately placed the rapper in a dangerous situation.

“Tupac took off to prove his loyalty and it cost him his life,” he said.

McDonald added that he believed Knight should have removed Shakur from the confrontation instead of participating.

“Tupac should have never been in that situation,” he said.

McDonald Links Tupac’s Death to Further Violence

McDonald also reflected on the gang conflict that followed Shakur’s killing and eventually referenced the 1997 murder of Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, better known as Biggie.

“Somebody from Bad Boy had to go and someone had to pay the price for Shakur,” McDonald told PEOPLE. “That was Biggie.”

That statement represents McDonald’s own characterization of the violence surrounding the era and does not establish who was legally responsible for Wallace’s still-unsolved murder.

McDonald said gang culture at the time revolved heavily around retaliation.

“If there was no repercussion for Tupac it wouldn’t look good for Suge,” he said.

Reflecting on both Shakur and Wallace, he added, “It’s just unfortunate they all killed each other for nothing.”

Reggie Wright Jr. Also Takes the Stand

After McDonald finished his testimony on Aug. 18, Reggie Wright Jr., who served as Knight’s head of security, took the witness stand.

Wright testified that he had also been at Club 662 on the night Shakur was shot.

He identified McDonald’s brother, Alton “Buntry” McDonald, as part of the entourage accompanying Shakur and Knight earlier that evening.

Wright also discussed surveillance footage from the MGM Grand confrontation, identifying Alton McDonald and security team member Roger “Neckbone” Williams among those shown.

During separate questioning about an encounter at the 1996 Soul Train Awards, Wright said he believed Davis had been present but did not believe Davis was the individual carrying a gun.

Outside court, Mob James questioned theories concerning Wright and Shakur’s death.

“We didn’t want Tupac gone because everyone goes back to robbing, killing and stealing,” McDonald said.

He explained that he had known Wright’s family for decades but would not automatically defend anyone simply because of personal loyalty.

“We all got hidden agendas,” he said.

Sean “Diddy” Combs (left) and Suge Knight (right).

Defense Says Davis’ Stories Were Fabricated

McDonald also accused Davis of attempting to shift responsibility onto others now that he is facing prosecution.

“Keffe D is just trying to point the blame on somebody else because he got himself in this situation,” McDonald said.

Davis’ attorneys, however, argue that their client’s previous statements about the Shakur killing — including claims made in his memoir — were exaggerated or fabricated for entertainment and financial gain.

Sanft has argued that prosecutors cannot even prove Davis was in Las Vegas on the night Shakur was shot, pointing to what the defense describes as an absence of receipts, credit-card records or photographs placing him at the MGM Grand.

Davis has also previously claimed that Bad Boy Records founder Sean “Diddy” Combs offered $1 million to have Shakur and Knight killed. Combs has denied that allegation, while Davis has said the alleged payment was never made.

The defense has also challenged why authorities did not prosecute Davis following a 2008 interview in which prosecutors say he discussed his role in the shooting.

Sanft told jurors that investigators did not charge Davis at the time because they believed his claims were unreliable.

The long-awaited trial is expected to last approximately one month and reportedly includes a potential witness list containing more than 200 names, including Knight and members of Shakur’s family.

For McDonald, however, his appearance came with deep reservations. Although he ultimately complied with the court’s demand that he testify, he repeatedly emphasized that he did not want his words to become the deciding factor in sending Davis to prison.

His position, he said, comes from having lived through incarceration, gang violence and the deadly consequences of the conflicts surrounding Death Row Records.

“I’m a survivor and I lived the worst of the worst,” McDonald said. “I woke up with a gun, I went to sleep with a gun. But I paid the time.”

And despite his personal feelings toward Davis, he said that experience left him unwilling to willingly help another man suffer the same fate.