Tupac Shakeur Arrested for Sodomy in New York City (November 19, 1993)
Sexual assault case, prison sentence, appeal and release
In November 1993, Shakur and two other men were charged in New York with sodomizing a woman in Shakur's hotel room. The woman, Ayanna Jackson, alleged that after she performed oral sex on Shakur at the public dance floor of a Manhattan nightclub, she went to his hotel room a later day, when Shakur, record executive Jacques "Haitian Jack" Agnant, Shakur's road manager Charles Fuller and an unidentified fourth man apprehended forced her to perform non-consensual oral sex on each of them.[135][136] Shakur was also charged with illegal possession of a firearm as two guns were found in the hotel room.[137] Interviewed on The Arsenio Hall Show, Shakur said he was hurt that "a woman would accuse me of taking something from her", as he had been raised in a female household and surrounded by women his whole life.[138]
On December 1, 1994, Shakur was acquitted of three counts of sodomy and the associated gun charges, but convicted of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse for "forcibly touching the woman's buttocks" in his hotel room.[135][34] Jurors have said the lack of evidence stymied a sodomy conviction.[139] In February 1995, he was sentenced to 18 months to 4+1⁄2 years in prison by a judge who decried "an act of brutal violence against a helpless woman".[137][140] Shakur's lawyer characterized the sentence as "out of line" with the groping conviction and the setting of bail at $3 million as "inhumane". Shakur's accuser later filed a civil suit against Shakur seeking $10 million for punitive damages which was subsequently settled.[141][142]
After Shakur had been convicted of sexual abuse, Jacques Agnant's case was separated and closed via misdemeanor plea without incarceration.[63][143] A. J. Benza reported in New York Daily News Shakur's new disdain for Agnant who Shakur theorized had set him up with the case.[63][104] Shakur reportedly believed his accuser was connected to and had sexual relations with Agnant and James Rosemond behind his 1994 Quad Studios shooting.[144]
Shakur began serving his prison sentence on sexual abuse charges at Clinton Correctional Facility on February 14, 1995; he also spent a few months recuperating at Rikers Island.[145] While imprisoned, he began reading again, which he had been unable to do as his career progressed due to his marijuana and alcohol habits. Works such as The Prince by Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli and The Art of War by Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu sparked Shakur's interest in philosophy, philosophy of war and military strategy.[146] On April 4, 1995, Shakur married his girlfriend Keisha Morris; the marriage was later annulled.[147] While in prison, Shakur exchanged letters with celebrities such as Jim Carrey and Tony Danza among others.[148][149] He was also visited by Al Sharpton, who helped Shakur get released from solitary confinement.[150]
By October 1995, pending judicial appeal, Shakur was incarcerated in New York.[113] On October 12, he bonded out of the maximum security Dannemora Clinton Correctional Facility in the process of appealing his conviction,[34] once Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row Records, arranged for posting of his $1.4 million bond.[47]