Tupacs murder suspect starts trial in Vegas, 30…
Nearly 30 years after rapper Tupac Shakur was fatally shot in Las Vegas, the only individual ever charged in his killing is set to go on trial.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, is scheduled to stand trial starting Monday on a murder charge in the 1996 drive-by taking pictures that killed Shakur, one of hip-hop’s most influential artists.
Davis has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors don’t accuse him of firing the shot, but allege he helped plan the assault and supplied the gun used in the taking pictures.
Shakur was shot Sept. 7, 1996, while using in a BMW pushed by Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight close to the Las Vegas Strip. He died six days later at age 25.
Hours before the taking pictures, Shakur, Knight and others had been concerned in a struggle at the MGM Grand with Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, Davis’ nephew and a member of the South Side Compton Crips.
Tupac Shakur and Marion “Suge” Knight attend the Tyson vs. Bruno match at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. FilmMagic
A photograph of Suge Knight’s bullet-ridden BMW is shown on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, in evidence filed by Las Vegas prosecutors in the murder trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis. / SplashNews.com
Duane “Keffe D” Davis leaves Clark County District Court after a calendar call and movement listening to on Tuesday, Aug. 4. via REUTERS
Prosecutors say Davis, Anderson, Deandrae “Freaky” Smith and Terry “Bubble Up” Brown had been later using in a white Cadillac that pulled alongside Shakur’s car and opened fire.
Davis is the only one of the 4 still alive.
Authorities long suspected Anderson was the gunman, although evidence introduced in the case has also raised the chance that Smith fired the photographs.
No murder weapon was recovered.
A New York Post cowl options Tupac Shakur after he was killed.
According to The Associated Press, prosecutors hope to show that Davis called the photographs in and supplied the gun used in the crime. (*30*) got here from the Cadillac that Davis was in, and he’s one of the only people there that evening who is still alive.
Davis has acknowledged being in the Cadillac and mentioned the killing in interviews and in his 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend.” Prosecutors say those statements help set up his position in the assault.
His attorneys, meanwhile, have argued that some of Davis’ public statements had been exaggerated and have challenged whether or not statements he made during a 2008 police interview could possibly be used against him.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis is shown in a police mugshot launched by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. via REUTERS
Davis’ trial is anticipated to last around 4 weeks, after his legal professionals had been unable to dismiss the costs in November. Getty Images
A Nevada decide ruled that Davis’ police interview, as effectively as parts of his memoir, shall be allowed during the trial.
The trial is anticipated to last about 4 weeks. In November, Davis’ attorneys unsuccessfully sought to dismiss the costs.
“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 profession was highlighted by more than 75 million data worldwide with hits including “California Love,” “Changes” and “Dear Mama.”
Rapper Tupac Shakur performs at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois, in March 1994. Getty Images
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for remark.
Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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