Jury selection begins for man accused of arranging Tupac Shakur’s 1996 killing
· Toronto Sun
See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source
Visit sweetbonanza.qpon for more information.
The ex-gang leader who prosecutors say orchestrated the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur went on trial Monday.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, is facing one count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in Shakur’s death.
He has been behind bars since 2023. He has pleaded not guilty.
Shakur was at the height of his fame when he was shot in a fatal drive-by on Sept. 7, 1996, in Paradise, Nev. He died six days later.
Nearly three decades later, the hip-hop icon’s family members were among those gathered at a Las Vegas courthouse for the start of jury selection, which could continue through the rest of this week.
Memoir is key for prosecutors
In 2019, Davis wrote a tell-all, “Compton Street Legend,” breaking down his role in Shakur’s deadly shooting, as well as an account of his plan to confront Shakur and Death Row Records CEO Marion “Suge” Knight in retaliation for an earlier fight.
Davis documented that he got a gun, hopped in a Cadillac with three others, and drove around looking for the pair, per CNN . Once they spotted Tupac in a car, they pulled up next to it.
“No words exchanged, the time for talking had passed, the sh*t was about to go down!” he wrote.
That account now serves as key evidence against Davis as he prepares to stand trial in one of the most notorious unsolved murders.
The trial, which is expected to last about a month, likely won’t reveal who pulled the trigger, but prosecutors hope to prove Davis was the “shot caller” of the group that fatally shot Tupac and wounded Knight in 1996.
The former gang member is also the only person among them still alive.
The night Tupac was shot
He and Knight had just watched a fight between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon and were headed to a nightclub where Shakur was set to perform.
Shakur and Knight were in a black BMW — Tupac in the passenger seat, Suge behind the wheel — when a white Cadillac pulled up beside them at a red light and gunfire erupted.
Shakur was shot multiple times and later died on Sept. 13, 1996, while Knight — who is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for a fatal hit-and-run — survived with minor injuries.
The case went cold until Davis began making public statements about his involvement as a leader of the South Side Compton Crips, prior to his memoir.
Davis’ legal team argues there is no evidence he directed the shooting and the state is relying on witnesses who weren’t there.
Prosecutors say if Davis hadn’t written explicitly about the slaying, or talked about it in interviews, it’s likely no one would have been charged.
“In this case, almost all of the evidence the state will seek to introduce will be to establish the credibility of Defendant’s various accounts of his role in the killing of Tupac Shakur,” prosecutors wrote in a recent filing.
Since his arrest, Davis said his prior statements were false and just an attempt to sell books. He blamed his co-author for including false information.
Was gang rivalry behind the killing?
To this day, Shakur is considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. He was killed amid a fierce battle for dominance in a music scene increasingly shaped by rival gangs.
Shakur’s shooting has long been portrayed as a culmination of a longstanding feud between rival record labels Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records, according to grand jury transcripts.
Witnesses said the South Side Compton Crips provided protection to Bad Boy Records, which was founded by Sean “Diddy” Combs and included rappers like Notorious B.I.G., while Mob Piru, a sect of the larger Bloods gang, was linked to Death Row Records, which featured rappers like Shakur, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.
Prosecutors allege Davis, then part of the Crips, planned the shooting after Shakur and his entourage beat up Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand hours before Shakur was killed.
Davis denied any involvement in an interview with KLAS , calling the accusations “a bunch of lies.”
Jury selection continues on Tuesday.