Duane “Keffe D” Davis, accused in the murder of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur, is set to go on trial on Monday, August 10, according to a report from The Associated Press. Davis has been jailed since 2023 and has pleaded not guilty.
The trial will focus on prosecutors’ claim that Davis orchestrated the killing and provided the murder weapon, even as the reporting notes it may be unlikely to reveal the identity of the gunman. The case traces back to the September 1996 shooting that led to Shakur’s death, and it also involves overlapping disputes prosecutors say set the stage for the crime.
According to the report, Davis faces one count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. Prosecutors are aiming to prove that Davis was the person who planned the plot and supplied the weapon used in Shakur’s killing.
The account of the incident dates to Sept. 7, 1996, when Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight, a co-founder of Death Row Records, were driving a black BMW after a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand Hotel. Near a red light close to the Vegas Strip, a white Cadillac pulled up and began shooting.
The report says Knight suffered minor injuries, while Shakur was hit multiple times and died six days later. The Cadillac involved in the shooting included Davis, Orlando Anderson, Deandre Smith, and Terry Brown. Of those four men, the report states that Davis is the only one still alive.
The report says Shakur’s murder, according to the indictment, resulted from two overlapping feuds. Those are described as the East Coast/West Coast rap war between Death Row and Diddy’s Bad Boy Records, and a dispute involving the South Side Compton Crips and the Mob Piru Bloods.
It is alleged that Davis, identified in the report as a leader with the South Side Compton Crips, set up the murder after a fight between Shakur and Anderson at the MGM Grand.
The case also regained momentum through a 2019 memoir co-written by Davis, titled Compton Street Legend. The report says the book, along with several interviews Davis gave over the years, will be a key factor in the prosecution’s case against him.
The report states that if Davis is convicted, he faces life behind bars.
