The murder trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis has reignited discussions implicating Sean “Diddy” Combs in the demise of Tupac Shakur.
Shortly after the trial commenced, a retired LAPD Detective, Daryn Dupree, presented testimony before the Las Vegas jury. Dupree relayed Davis’ assertions that Combs allegedly provided financial resources, which were intended to be passed to Davis for orchestrating Shakur’s assassination.
During his testimony on August 20, Dupree stated, as captured in the court feed, “Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs was supposed to had given money to Zip Martin, to give to Mr. Davis for payment of the Tupac murder.”
The alleged amount of money involved in this transaction has been reported by ABC News as being up to $1 million.
In his August 20 testimony, LAPD Detective Daryn Dupree reiterated the claim: “Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs was supposed to had given money to Zip Martin to give to Mr. Davis for payment of the Tupac murder,” as noted in the court documentation.
However, authorities have never labeled Combs a key figure in Shakur’s death. And the mogul—currently in jail for two counts of transportation for prostitution—has also denied any involvement.
In fact, Davis’ attorney Michael Sanft said in his opening statement that his client was “full of crap” when he previously bragged about him having any involvement in Shakur’s death, according to the AP.
made attempts to reach Sanft for comment, but were unsuccessful.
Also on Aug. 20, jurors heard audio from a 2008 interview between Davis and detectives where he claimed his nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson had fired the shots that killed Shakur, per the AP. (Anderson died from an unrelated shooting in 1998.)
After his 2023 arrest, Davis was charged with one count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. He pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors alleged Davis orchestrated the 1996 shooting of the 25-year-old rapper, providing his nephew with a gun and instructing him to fire the fatal shots as they approached a car carrying both Shakur and Suge Knight near the Las Vegas strip.
The jury watched video of Shakur’s entourage attacking Anderson outside a boxing match at the MGM Grand hours before Shakur was shot.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal said in his opening statement that Davis spent the next two hours planning an “act of revenge” for the attack.
“Let’s be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew,” Palal told the jury. “Remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself.”
Earlier in the trial, Combs was also mentioned during former Death Row Records associate James “Mob James” McDonald’s testimony as he discussed the infamous rivalry between Knight’s label and Combs’ Bad Boy Records, according to the court feed.
McDonald claimed Shakur essentially “inherit[ed] the beef between Suge Knight and [Combs].”