Jury selection is set to begin on Monday in the long-awaited murder trial of former street gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who is accused of masterminding the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed hip-hop star Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas.
Davis, 63, faces one count of murder with the use of a deadly weapon in Clark County, Nevada. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege that Davis led a group involved in the killing of Shakur, 25, whose death became one of the most defining and controversial moments in hip-hop history.
The shooting intensified concerns over violence associated with “gangsta” rap and further fueled the notorious East Coast-West Coast rivalry that dominated hip-hop at the time.
Authorities arrested Davis in 2023, saying “he had been a longtime suspect but that investigators previously lacked enough admissible evidence to prosecute him.” Police said his own public statements about the shooting eventually helped revive the case.
The trial, being heard by Judge Carli Kierny in downtown Las Vegas, could last up to six weeks. Among the potential witnesses is Marion “Suge” Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records, who was in the car with Shakur when the shooting occurred. Knight is currently serving a 28-year sentence for an unrelated voluntary manslaughter conviction.
The “Shot Caller”
Prosecutors describe Davis as the “shot caller” behind an alleged revenge attack following a confrontation at the MGM Grand casino on September 7, 1996. Shakur and members of his entourage had allegedly beaten Davis’ nephew during the confrontation.
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The incident was reportedly connected to tensions between two Los Angeles-area street gangs: the South Side Compton Crips, which Davis described himself as leading, and Mob Piru, which authorities associate with Knight and Death Row Records. Both groups were in Las Vegas for the heavyweight boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon.
Authorities allege Davis obtained the gun and passed it to another passenger in a white Cadillac as the group searched for Knight and Shakur’s vehicle.
When the Cadillac caught up with their car, gunfire erupted. Shakur was hit four times and died six days later in hospital. Knight, who was driving, sustained a minor injury after a bullet fragment grazed his head.
Cold Case Reopened
The investigation remained dormant for almost 30 years before gaining momentum in 2018 following public comments Davis made about the shooting.
According to police, Davis said in interviews and in his 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” that he was sitting in the Cadillac’s front passenger seat and handed the gun to one of two men seated behind him.
However, neither Davis’ statements nor investigators have established who actually fired the fatal shots. The three other men who were in the Cadillac have since died.
Under Nevada law, Davis can still face a murder charge if prosecutors prove he participated in the killing, even if he was not the person who pulled the trigger.
Davis also wrote that he had long been regarded as a suspect in the killing of Shakur and that of fellow rapper Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G., who was killed in Los Angeles in March 1997.
Wallace’s murder remains unsolved, although it has long been speculated that his killing was retaliation for Shakur’s death several months earlier.
Reuters
