The Decades-Old Interview Has Become Central Evidence as Duane Davis Faces Trial Nearly 30 Years After Shakur’s Killing
Jurors in Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ murder trial heard him tell investigators in a 2008 recording that his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur.
The recording was played Thursday in a Las Vegas courtroom as prosecutors continued presenting their case against Davis, the only person ever charged in Shakur’s nearly 30-year-old killing. Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty.
Davis is charged with murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. Prosecutors do not accuse him of pulling the trigger. Instead, they allege he organized the retaliatory shooting and supplied the gun.
Davis Described the Fatal Drive-By
In the interview, Davis said he was sitting in the front passenger seat of a white Cadillac with Anderson and two other men when they pulled alongside the BMW carrying Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight.
Davis said he had the gun but could not get a clear shot because Knight’s BMW was on the opposite side of the Cadillac.
“If we would have been on my side, I would have blasted,” Davis said in the recording.
Davis told investigators that he passed the gun toward the back seat, where Anderson took it and began firing. Anderson denied involvement before his death in an unrelated gang shooting in 1998.
Shakur was struck multiple times in the Sept. 7, 1996, shooting near the Las Vegas Strip. The 25-year-old rapper died six days later. Knight survived with minor injuries.
The recording marked the first time Davis directly discussed his alleged involvement with authorities, according to The Associated Press.
Why the 2008 Interview Can Be Used
The Dec. 18, 2008, interview occurred while Los Angeles police were investigating the 1997 killing of Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace and possible drug charges involving Davis.
Former LAPD detective Daryn Dupree testified that Davis unexpectedly told investigators he had been involved in “the other one,” referring to Shakur’s killing.
Davis participated in the recorded meeting under an agreement that his statements would not be used against him. His attorneys unsuccessfully sought to keep the recording out of the trial.
Prosecutors argued the agreement did not grant Davis blanket immunity and that he made the information admissible by repeating details in media interviews, documentaries and his 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend.” Judge Carli Kierny ruled in July that prosecutors could play the interview for jurors.
The recording is now a central part of a case built largely around Davis’ own statements, as previously reported.
Defense Says Davis Invented His Accounts
Prosecutors allege Davis obtained the gun and helped arrange the shooting in retaliation for an attack on Anderson inside the MGM Grand earlier that night. Shakur and members of his entourage were captured on surveillance video participating in the assault.
Under Nevada law, Davis can be convicted of murder if jurors find that he participated in the killing even if he did not fire the fatal shots.
Defense attorney Michael Sanft argues that Davis embellished or invented his accounts for publicity, entertainment and money. He has also questioned the lack of physical evidence and argued that investigators declined to charge Davis following the 2008 interview because they did not consider his story credible.
The defense maintains that the prosecution is attempting to turn Davis’ conflicting stories into proof of his guilt.
