- Jury selection is set to begin on Monday in the murder trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis, who is charged with the 1996 drive-by shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur.
- Davis, 63, is charged in Clark County, Nevada, with a single count of murder by use of a deadly weapon and has pleaded not guilty.
- He is accused of leading a group to kill Shakur, who was 25 years old at the time of his death, in a drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip.
- The trial is expected to last up to six weeks and may feature testimony from Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight.
- Davis was a longtime suspect in the killing, but the investigation went cold for nearly three decades until his public statements in 2018.
- On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot in a drive-by shooting after a brawl at the MGM Grand casino and died six days later.
- The murder investigation grew cold for nearly 30 years until Davis's public statements in 2018 reignited interest in the case.
- In his 2019 memoir, 'Compton Street Legend,' Davis admitted to being in the car and handing over the gun used in the shooting.
- Davis is described as the shot caller of a plot to avenge the beating of his nephew by Shakur and his entourage.
Jury selection for the murder trial of Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, 63, begins Monday in Las Vegas, where he faces a single count of murder in the 1996 drive-by shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur.12
Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege he orchestrated the killing as revenge for a fight involving his nephew, Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson, and Shakur's entourage at the MGM Grand casino on September 7, 1996.6
The trial, expected to last up to six weeks, may include testimony from Marion 'Suge' Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records, who was with Shakur during the incident.4
Authorities claim Davis was the 'shot caller' behind the plot, which involved a white Cadillac from which shots were fired at Shakur's vehicle, resulting in his death six days later.9
The case, one of the most high-profile unsolved murders in the U.S., was revived after Davis's memoirs in 2019, where he admitted to being present during the shooting but did not specify who fired the gun.
If convicted, Davis faces life in prison without parole.
The trial will also revisit the notorious rivalry between Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records, which was linked to the broader East Coast-West Coast hip-hop feud.
Shakur, who died at 25, was a pivotal figure in this conflict, known for hits like 'California Love' and 'All Eyez on Me'.
“Davis, 63, faces life in prison without parole if convicted. Prosecutors allege he ordered the killing and provided the gun, but the identity of the shooter remains unclear, as everyone else in the Cadillac that night has since died.”
The Guardian
