Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur’s killing, Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis heads to trial

Davis, the only person ever charged in the 1996 killing, has pleaded not guilty.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis is scheduled to stand trial Monday as the sole defendant ever charged in Tupac Shakur’s 1996 killing nearly three years after Davis’ arrest and follows earlier reporting on who was in the Cadillac and his not-guilty plea.

Complex reported that Davis, 63, is charged with one count of murder with a deadly weapon with intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. He has pleaded not guilty and has remained in custody since his September 2023 arrest.

Prosecutors are not required to prove that Davis personally fired the fatal shots. Their case instead alleges that he helped orchestrate the attack and provided the weapon after Shakur and members of his entourage assaulted Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand on the night of September 6, 1996.

Davis’ own statements are expected to play a major role in the case. Prosecutors have pointed to interviews and his 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” in which he described being inside the Cadillac involved in the shooting. Judge Carli Kierny has ruled that prosecutors may use the memoir and a 2008 police interview at trial.

The defense has argued that portions of Davis’ public accounts were exaggerated or fictionalized for entertainment and financial gain. His lawyers have also challenged the state’s interpretation of his statements and maintain that prosecutors cannot prove he directed Shakur’s killing.

Davis’ trial is expected to last about four weeks. If convicted, Davis could face life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

Davis is the only surviving person identified as being inside the Cadillac. The three other occupants named in court records have died, and none was charged in Shakur’s killing before their deaths.

Shakur was 25 when he died six days after the September 7, 1996, shooting in Las Vegas. His stepbrother, Mopreme Shakur, told the Associated Press that he is “cautiously optimistic” and hopes the proceedings establish the truth after decades of unanswered questions.