Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was fatally shot in Las Vegas, the man accused of masterminding his killing is going on trial.
Opening statements are set to begin on Monday in the murder trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a former street gang leader accused of orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed the hip-hop star.
Davis, 63, is charged in Clark County, Nevada, with one count of murder using a deadly weapon. He has pleaded not guilty.
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Prosecutors allege Davis led a group of men in a plot to kill Shakur, who was 25 when he was shot near the Las Vegas Strip on September 7, 1996.
Shakur was one of hip-hop’s most commercially successful and influential artists, and his death became one of the most notorious unsolved cases in music history.
Police said following Davis’ arrest in 2023 that he had long been a suspect, but investigators did not have enough admissible evidence to charge him until he began publicly discussing his alleged involvement.
The trial, before Judge Carli Kierny in downtown Las Vegas, is expected to last up to six weeks. A jury was selected last week.
Former Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight, who was with Shakur on the night of the shooting, could be among those called to testify. Knight is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for an unrelated voluntary manslaughter conviction.
What happened the night Tupac Shakur was shot?
Authorities have described Davis as the “shot caller” in a plot allegedly carried out in retaliation for the beating of his nephew by Shakur and members of the rapper’s entourage inside the MGM Grand casino earlier that night.
The confrontation allegedly involved tensions between two Los Angeles-area street gangs, the South Side Compton Crips, of which Davis described himself as a leader, and Mob Piru, which police say was associated with Knight and Death Row Records.
The groups were in Las Vegas for the world heavyweight title boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon.
Prosecutors allege Davis obtained the murder weapon and handed it to one of two men sitting in the back seat of a white Cadillac as the group searched for Shakur and Knight after the casino altercation.
When the Cadillac caught up with their vehicle, shots were fired.
Shakur was struck four times and died in hospital six days later. Knight, who was driving, suffered a minor injury after a bullet fragment grazed his head.
How the cold case was revived
The investigation remained cold for years, but police said public statements made by Davis helped revive the case.
In media interviews and his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, Davis said he was sitting in the front passenger seat of the Cadillac and had handed a gun to one of the two men sitting behind him, according to police.
Neither Davis’ account nor authorities have publicly identified who fired the shots that killed Shakur. The other three men who were in the Cadillac have since died.
Under Nevada law, Davis can face a murder charge if prosecutors prove he participated in the crime, even if he did not pull the trigger.
In his memoir, Davis also wrote that he had long been considered a suspect in the killings of both Shakur and Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G.
Wallace was shot dead in Los Angeles in March 1997, six months after Shakur’s death. His killing also remains unsolved.
Source: Khaleej Times