First prosecution in Tupac Shakur murder case begins in Las Vegas
Sixty-three-year-old former gang leader pleads not guilty to orchestrating the 1996 killing of the iconic rapper, with prosecutors relying on his own published confessions.
The first prosecution related to the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur has commenced in Las Vegas, marking a significant legal milestone three decades after the event that captivated global attention. Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis, a 63-year-old former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, has entered a not guilty plea to one count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote a criminal gang.
Prosecutors allege that Davis orchestrated the fatal drive-by shooting by supplying the weapon, though they do not claim he was the individual who pulled the trigger. The case centres on the events of September 7, 1996, when Shakur was shot six times in a white Cadillac in Las Vegas. He died six days later at the age of 25. The shooting occurred hours after Shakur and Death Row Records founder Marion ‘Suge’ Knight were involved in an altercation with Davis’s nephew, Orlando ‘Baby Lane’ Anderson, at the MGM Grand following a Mike Tyson boxing match.
The prosecution’s strategy relies heavily on Davis’s own admissions contained in his 2019 memoir, *Compton Street Legend*, and subsequent interviews. In the book, Davis details hunting Shakur and Knight through the city in retaliation for the assault on his nephew. He wrote that he acquired a firearm, entered a Cadillac with three associates, and waited to ambush the rapper, stating in the text that “the time for talking had passed.”
Davis’s defence team has moved to exclude the memoir from the trial but was unsuccessful in their bid. The defence intends to argue that Davis’s previous statements were fabricated and will call only a handful of witnesses. They have not yet confirmed whether Davis will take the stand to testify. The outcome of the trial is expected to hinge on whether the jury accepts the memoir and interviews as truthful confessions or as inventions.
United States prosecutors plan to call between 35 and 45 witnesses, including police officers, technical experts, and associates of both Shakur and Davis. Marion ‘Suge’ Knight, who is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for a separate homicide, is on the witness list but has stated he wishes to have no part in the proceedings. Neither the vehicle nor the gun used in the shooting has ever been recovered, and the other three men in the Cadillac during the attack have since died.
Davis has been in custody since 2023 awaiting trial. In 2025, he was found guilty of battery following a fight in jail. The trial is expected to last between four and six weeks, potentially providing the first judicial resolution to a case that has long been surrounded by conspiracy theories and unresolved questions.
