Almost three decades have passed since the tragic shooting of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas, and now, the solitary individual ever charged in connection with his death is preparing to face trial.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, aged 63, is slated to begin his trial for murder on Monday. The charge stems from the 1996 drive-by incident that claimed the life of Shakur, a titan in the world of hip-hop.
Davis maintains his innocence with a plea of not guilty. While he is not accused of pulling the trigger, prosecutors assert he played a critical role in orchestrating the attack and supplying the weapon used in the fatal shooting.
On September 7, 1996, Shakur was struck by gunfire while riding in a BMW chauffeured by Marion “Suge” Knight, the founder of Death Row Records, adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip. The rapper succumbed to his injuries six days later at the age of 25.
LAWYERS FOR SUSPECTED TUPAC SHAKUR KILLER CLAIM HIS WORDS WERE TWISTED, WANT HIM RELEASED FROM JAIL
Tupac was born in New York and raised in Baltimore and Oakland before claiming Los Angeles as his home. (Raymond Boyd)
Hours before the shooting, Shakur, Knight and others were involved in a fight at the MGM Grand with Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, Davis’ nephew and a member of the South Side Compton Crips.
Prosecutors say Davis, Anderson, Deandrae “Freaky” Smith and Terry “Bubble Up” Brown were later riding in a white Cadillac that pulled alongside Shakur’s car and opened fire.
Davis is the only one of the four still alive.
Tupac Shakur and his East Coast rival, Biggie, were killed six months apart. (Getty Images)
Authorities long suspected Anderson was the gunman, although evidence presented in the case has also raised the possibility that Smith fired the shots.
No murder weapon was recovered.
According to the Associated Press, prosecutors hope to prove that Davis called the shots in and provided the gun used in the crime. Gunfire came from the Cadillac that Davis was in, and he’s one of the only people there that night who is still alive.
Davis has acknowledged being in the Cadillac and discussed the killing in interviews and in his 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend.” Prosecutors say those statements help establish his role in the attack.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis enters a courtroom in Clark County District Court for a trial readiness status check at the Regional Justice Center on June 17, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Steve Marcus-Pool/Getty Images)
His attorneys, meanwhile, have argued that some of Davis’ public statements were exaggerated and have challenged whether statements he made during a 2008 police interview could be used against him.
A Nevada judge ruled that Davis’ police interview, as well as portions of his memoir, will be allowed during the trial.
Tupac Shakur was killed in a 1996 shooting in Las Vegas. (Associated Press)
The trial is expected to last about four weeks. In November, Davis’ attorneys unsuccessfully sought to dismiss the charges.
“Think of it this way: Shakur’s murder was essentially the entertainment world’s JFK assassination — endlessly dissected, mythologized, monetized — so it’s not hard to see why someone in Davis’s position might falsely place himself at the center of it all for personal gain,” his attorneys said in a petition to the Nevada Supreme Court that was denied.
Shakur’s legendary rap career was highlighted by more than 75 million records worldwide with hits including “California Love,” “Changes” and “Dear Mama.”
News Media has reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for comment.