The Pop Life; Change of Story In Shakur Case
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A man who at one time was listed as a suspect in the killing of Tupac Shakur has changed significant elements of his story in a six-hour deposition, his most extensive interview since the slaying in Las Vegas, Nev., 18 months ago. The man, Orlando Anderson of Los Angeles, changed several details concerning his trip to Las Vegas, where the slaying occurred, and admitted lying previously under oath. He was deposed as part of a civil wrongful-death suit filed against him by the estate of Mr. Shakur, the rap star. Mr. Anderson, had been named as a suspect in Mr. Shakur’s killing shortly after he was fatally wounded in the drive-by shooting. But the Las Vegas police now say they have no suspects, and there is no indication that arrests are imminent in the death of the man who remains one of the country’s biggest-selling rappers. Mr. Shakur’s mother, Afeni, has named Mr. Anderson as her son’s slayer, however. Her suit claims that he stepped out of a white Cadillac at a red light and fired a round of bullets into Mr. Shakur’s car. The incident occurred just hours after Mr. Anderson was beaten in a Las Vegas hotel by a number of people associated with Death Row Records. Mr. Shakur was seen administering blows on a videotape of the incident, and Death Row’s chief executive, Suge Knight, was returned to prison on a parole violation as a result of his participation. At Mr. Knight’s parole hearing, however, Mr. Anderson testified that Mr. Knight did not harm him and was trying to stop the fight. But in his recent deposition, Mr. Anderson admitted to having lied in his previous testimony. He said that he was punched and kicked by Mr. Knight. ”One thing that’s been accomplished is that we’ve shown that Mr. Anderson has lied under oath,” said Donald David, the lawyer for the Shakur estate who took the deposition. ”That’s a critical accomplishment. And we now have Mr. Anderson’s side of the story for the first time. And once you have that, you can start verifying or disputing it.” Lawyers for Mr. Anderson minimized the contradictions. They said that he previously lied because he had been threatened by Mr. Knight’s associates and that the wrongful death lawsuit was simply retaliation against a personal-injury suit Mr. Anderson filed as a result of the hotel beating. The lawyers point to other contradictions: In previous sworn statements, Mr. Anderson pleaded his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked whether he and members of his family were members of the Crips, the notorious Los Angeles street gang involved in a violent longstanding rivalry with the Bloods, the gang Mr. Knight has been associated with. This time, Mr. Anderson answered both of these questions negatively. More : query.nytimes.com |