Duane “Keffe D” Davis Faces Life in Prison if Convicted of Orchestrating the 1996 Las Vegas Shooting That Killed Tupac Shakur
Duane “Keffe D” Davis faces life in prison if convicted of orchestrating the 1996 Las Vegas shooting that killed Tupac Shakur.
Opening statements are set to begin Monday in the Tupac Shakur murder trial, nearly three decades after the influential rapper was fatally shot in a Las Vegas drive-by that became one of hip-hop’s most enduring mysteries.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, is charged with murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. Davis has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
The trial marks the first time anyone has been prosecuted in connection with Shakur’s 1996 killing, a case that remained unsolved for decades before a grand jury indicted Davis in 2023.
Shakur was just 25 when he died, but his influence on music and culture has continued long after his death. He received six Grammy Award nominations and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
In recent years, Shakur has also received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, had an Oakland street named in his honor and inspired a character in the upcoming video game “Stranger than Heaven.”
Tupac Shakur’s Family Expected in Court
The trial could stretch for weeks, with prosecutors preparing to call between 35 and 45 potential witnesses. Davis’ defense team is expected to call only a handful.
Members of Shakur’s family are expected to attend Monday’s proceedings.
His stepbrother, Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur, told The Associated Press that sitting through testimony about the rapper’s death will be painful for the family, but said their presence is important.
“We’re gonna stand by Pac as we always have,” he said.
Family members will not be alone. Friends and fans traveled to Las Vegas during jury selection to show their support.
Darryl Harper, a veteran music producer who worked with Shakur at Death Row Records on music released after his death, flew from Georgia after the latest trial date was announced.
“He became a personal friend of mine as I worked with him almost every day of his last days here,” Harper said.
Harper said he hopes the proceedings finally establish who was responsible.
“My prayer is that it’s the right person,” he said. “If he’s the right person, then I’m glad that Tupac would get some kind of redemption finally. I think he deserves it.”
Shakur’s cousins Kendrick Lesane and William Lesane also traveled from Atlanta for jury selection.
William Lesane said accountability has been a long time coming.
“For me, justice has long left the station 30 years ago,” he said.
Prosecutors Say Davis Organized the Shooting
Prosecutors do not allege that Davis personally fired the shots that killed Shakur.
Instead, they argue Davis organized the shooting as retaliation after Shakur and members of his entourage beat Davis’ nephew at the MGM Grand hours before the rapper was shot.
Shakur was riding in a vehicle in Las Vegas when gunfire erupted from a white Cadillac. Prosecutors say Davis was inside that Cadillac with three other men. All three have since died.
Davis’ own words are expected to play a central role in the prosecution’s case.
In 2008, Davis spoke with investigators examining the deaths of Shakur and fellow rapper Notorious B.I.G., whose real name was Christopher Wallace. At the time, Davis had an agreement protecting statements he made about Shakur’s killing from being used against him.
Nearly a decade later, however, Davis published many of those details in his book, “Compton Street Legend,” and discussed his alleged role in multiple media interviews.
Prosecutors say those public statements helped revive the Las Vegas investigation and later became important evidence.
“Had he decided to never write the book, he would not, probably, have ever been prosecuted for the crime,” prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo said ahead of the trial.
Defense Says Davis’ Book Was Written to Make Money
Davis’ attorney, Michael Sanft, is expected to challenge the reliability of those statements.
Sanft argues that Davis helped create “Compton Street Legend” to make money rather than provide an accurate account of Shakur’s killing. He also contends there is no clear way to determine which portions were written by Davis and which were written by co-author Yusuf Jah.
Jah, who appears on the list of potential witnesses, recently told an investigator he did not believe Davis had fully read his own book, according to court documents.
Prosecutors acknowledge that portions of the book were sensationalized but say they plan to demonstrate “what is true, what is exaggeration, and what is an outright lie.”
Davis has also recently contradicted his earlier public accounts.
He told Las Vegas television station Fox 5 that he was not in Las Vegas on the night Shakur was shot. His book, however, describes traveling from Los Angeles to Las Vegas for the boxing match Shakur attended, where Davis stayed and events that allegedly occurred before and after the shooting.
Those competing versions of Davis’ story are now set to be tested before a jury as prosecutors seek a conviction in a killing that has remained part of hip-hop history for nearly 30 years.
