Man accused of orchestrating Tupac Shakur's 1996 murder to stand trial

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, is scheduled to stand trial on Monday in Las Vegas on a single count of murder with a deadly weapon and gang-related intent for the 1996 killing of rap star Tupac Shakur. Davis, who has been in custody since late 2023, has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors say Davis was the “shot caller” who supplied the weapon used in the drive-by that struck Shakur while he was a passenger in a BMW with Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight. The shooting occurred on Sept. 7, 1996, after a white Cadillac pulled alongside the vehicle near the Las Vegas Strip and opened fire. Shakur died six days later; Knight survived with minor injuries.

The case, revived after Davis published a memoir in 2019 describing his role in the South Side Compton Crips and his alleged involvement in the attack, will focus on the book and past interviews rather than direct eyewitness testimony. Defense attorneys argue that the evidence is circumstantial and that Davis left the narcotics trade in 2009, later working a regular job before retiring due to illness.

“I hope that the trial is fair, and we find out the truth,” said Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur, Tupac’s stepbrother, expressing cautious optimism about the proceedings.

Grand-jury transcripts suggest the shooting was tied to a long-standing feud between rival record labels and associated gang factions. Prosecutors allege the attack was retaliation for an earlier assault on Davis’s nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, by Shakur’s entourage.

The month-long trial is expected to address whether Davis orchestrated the murder, though it may not determine who fired the shots. The outcome could provide closure for Shakur’s family and fans, but many questions about the broader gang and music-industry conflicts may remain unresolved.