Trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis to Reveal New Details About 1996 Tupac Shakur Shooting
The upcoming August 10 trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the last living suspect in Tupac Shakur’s 1996 killing, is expected to present fresh testimony about the individuals present in the vehicles that night.
A Nevada jury trial set to begin on Aug. 10 will focus on Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, who is charged with orchestrating the drive-by shooting that wounded Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight and fatally injured rapper Tupac Shakur on Sept. 7, 1996. Davis has pleaded not guilty.
According to police and prosecutors, the attack stemmed from a rivalry between East-Coast Bloods affiliates and West-Coast Crips members, a conflict Davis claims he led in Compton. The Cadillac that fired the shots carried three other occupants besides Davis, none of whom have been charged before their deaths.
Authorities identify Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, a 22-year-old at the time, as the primary suspect for pulling the trigger after a brawl at the MGM Grand involving Shakur and his associates. Davis’s 2019 memoir states he placed a handgun in the back seat but does not name the shooter. Anderson denied involvement and was killed in an unrelated 1998 shooting.
Deandrae “Freaky” Smith, also known as “Big Dre,” sat beside Anderson in the back seat. Grand-jury testimony from former associate Denvonta Lee alleges Smith fired the weapon, taking the gun from Anderson and allowing Anderson to claim credit. Smith died of natural causes in 2004.
Terry “Bubble Up” Brown was the driver of the Cadillac. Davis’s account says the vehicle slowed near the Las Vegas Strip after spotting Shakur’s BMW, then turned to confront the convoy. Brown was killed in a 2015 shooting at a medical-marijuana dispensary.
Retired Las Vegas detective Clifford Mogg testified that investigators have never recovered the rental records for the Cadillac or the firearm used in the murder. The trial will examine these unresolved details alongside the testimonies of surviving witnesses, including Suge Knight, who is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for a separate homicide.
“Like two rams locking horns, Suge and I looked each other dead in the eye,” Davis wrote in his memoir, describing his relationship with Knight.
The case remains one of hip-hop’s most enduring unsolved crimes, with Shakur’s siblings continuing to call for accountability.