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NOT RAPPED UP
TUPAC Shakur's killer may still be on the loose as leaked police paperwork reveals cops are actively looking for "suspects" more than two decades on from the mystery murder.
A letter seen by the Sun Online reveals Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) refused to release certain files relating to the rapper's killing because they didn't want to alert any "persons of interest."
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The news comes after we exclusively revealed how the courts ruled the force could no longer keep many official Tupac files sealed.
In 243 pages of previously unseen documents, the LVMPD stated the unsolved drive-by murder investigation - which it said is still ongoing - was flawed from the start.
Now a bombshell letter - dated 2018 but released now - suggests detectives in Sin City rule out the long-held belief by their counterparts in LA that Crips member Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson pulled the trigger.
It is featured in a newly-released video by US documentary maker and author RJ Bond - who has been investigating the rapper's killing for years.
The email states Vegas cops would not release any files to "avoid interference with the investigation of the murder of Tupac Shakur which LVMPD is actively pursuing."
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It then adds: "Disclosing the investigative records may alert persons of interest or possible suspects of the investigation....which could cause the destruction or concealment of evidence."
The final line could be a reference to the gun which shot Tupac - believed to be a 40 caliber Glock pistol - which has never been found.
LA detectives Tim Brennan and Robert Ladd were called in to help investigate the rapper's shock death in 1996.
The officers, who worked for Compton Police Department in California, had Anderson on their radar after he tried to gun someone else down as part of a gangland initiation at the age of 15.
They claim in the immediate aftermath of the Tupac attack, informants told them the gangbanger was boasting to people about the high-profile killing.
Anderson had been attacked by Tupac and his pal in the Las Vegas MGM Grand just before the shooting.
Hours later, Tupac was shot four times - in the chest, arm and thigh - and died of his injuries six days later in hospital.
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Anderson - seen by LA cops as the prime suspect in the murder - was himself shot dead in Compton following a gun battle two years later.
Anderson had always denied killing Tupac and was never charged.
With his death the case was effectively closed by detectives operating in Los Angeles.
However, investigative documentary maker Bond believes the letter proves the hunt for the killer is still on.
He told the Sun Online: "We have always maintained LVMPD has a good idea who they believe did it, and they obviously believe it's still someone that can be alerted!
"The dead guy- Orlando Anderson- certainly isn't one of them. So who's still around to alert?
"This is why LVMPD has always had trouble with the LAPD. From what we see LVMPD is doing more with their investigation than LA ever did."
Bond hit the headlines in 2017 when he revealed a "confession letter" which was said to be key in finally solving the mystery.
The letter was said to have been written by one of the gunmen who opened fire on Tupac's car.
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In the unverified letter he told how he was 'told to take Knight out' a reference to Death Row Records boss Suge Knight.
The former rap mogul was with Tupac in the BMW the night he was killed.
It gave chilling details of the assassination and told of a background of a stolen rap song, a brutal gang beating and finally the bloody revenge hit.
The files seen by The Sun last month also gave a fascinating into what happened before, during and after the night of the shooting.
They told how Tupac's entourage did not give any useful information to cops trying to solve the shooting.
The documents also contained unproven claims Knight was the intended target "after taking out a contract to kill every Crip in Compton."
They also revealed never heard before witness testimony - including how one man claims he saw unknown male at the scene getting into a black BMW.
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Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department were sued by the Center for Investigative Reporting in 2017 for refusing to hand over the documents - even after the FBI had released its own.
An agreement was eventually reached that the department would release 1400 redacted files related to the case.
It's not known if the 243 pages obtained by The Sun via a Nevada Public Records Request are the entirety of the files, or if more are still to become available.
The LVMPD has remained tight lipped and refuses to reveal any information on the probe.