Orlando must have known he'd be the prime suspect.
Orlando was already suspected for murder before he shot Pac. I'm sure Orlando knew that he was already suspected for murder.
But I'm sure Orlando also realized that he was dealing with people who weren't going to talk to the cops. So getting away from the entourage and taking the car to a body shop was all that was necessary to destroy the evidence, unless the Death Row entourage saw him and snitched, which we all know would never happen.
And it's not like Orlando was laying low after that. He bragged to an undercover informant and other Compton Crips that he "whacked Makaveli."
The entourage knew it was the Crips the minute it happened. The police knew it was Orlando Anderson within weeks. But with nobody talking, there wasn't enough evidence to bring charges, which is what happened the previous time Anderson killed someone.
If he wanted to kill Pac, he'd have waited till everyone was back in LA, Pac wasnt hard to find.
Pac had bodyguards flanking him when he wasn't in a car. Anderson would have had to shoot from close range, and he would have never gotten away.
The only way to shoot Pac and get away was a drive by. Obviously Vegas was going to be his best chance if not his only chance.