Duane Davis Tupac Shakur murder trial: opening statements to begin Monday, August 17
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Opening statements in the murder trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis are scheduled to begin Monday, August 17, in Las Vegas. Davis, 63, is charged with one count of murder using a deadly weapon in the 1996 drive-by shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur and has pleaded not guilty. A jury was selected last week.
Key Facts
- Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, is charged in Clark County, Nevada, with a single count of murder using a deadly weapon and has pleaded not guilty.
- Davis is accused of leading a group of men to kill Tupac Shakur, 25, in a 1996 drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip.
- The trial before Judge Carli Kierny is expected to run for up to six weeks in a downtown Las Vegas courthouse.
- A jury was selected last week.
- Authorities said Davis obtained the murder weapon and handed it to two other men in the rear seat of a white Cadillac before shots were fired at the vehicle carrying Shakur and Marion "Suge" Knight.
The Defendant
Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, is charged in Clark County, Nevada, with one count of murder using a deadly weapon. He has pleaded not guilty. Davis is accused of leading a group of men to kill Tupac Shakur, 25, in a 1996 drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip. The killing heightened the image of violence in hip-hop culture and stoked the East Coast-West Coast rap feud of that era. Police said after Davis' 2023 arrest that he was a longtime suspect, but investigators lacked sufficient admissible evidence until he began implicating himself in public statements.
The Alleged Killing
Authorities described Davis as the "shot caller" of a hurried plot to avenge the beating of his nephew by Shakur and members of his entourage inside the MGM Grand casino on the night of September 7, 1996. The casino violence allegedly stemmed from hostility between the South Side Compton Crips, which Davis led, and Mob Piru, linked to Marion "Suge" Knight and Death Row Records. Both groups were in Las Vegas to see the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon world heavyweight title fight. Davis allegedly obtained the murder weapon and handed it to two other men in the rear seat of a white Cadillac as they rode around looking for Knight and Shakur's car after the brawl. Shots were fired when Davis and the others caught up with Knight and Shakur's vehicle.
Trial Schedule and Witnesses
The trial before Judge Carli Kierny is expected to run for up to six weeks in a downtown Las Vegas courthouse. A jury was selected last week. Opening statements are scheduled for Monday, August 17. Marion "Suge" Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records, was with Shakur the night he was killed and is now serving a 28-year prison sentence on an unrelated voluntary manslaughter conviction.
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