LAS VEGAS -- A Nevada judge ruled Tuesday that a recording of a 2008 police interview with the man accused of killing Tupac Shakur can be used as evidence in his upcoming trial.
Judge Carli Kierny found the interview admissible in the trial for Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, who is charged with murder in Shakur's 1996 killing. The trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 10 and is expected to last approximately four weeks.
Shakur's death is considered one of the most notorious unsolved murders in the United States. The case remained cold until Davis began making public statements about his involvement, including in a book he co-authored where he claimed to be in the Cadillac that provided the weapon used to shoot Shakur.
Davis' defense attorney, Michael Sanft, argued that the 2008 interview was intended to be confidential, with detectives explicitly telling Davis it would not be used against him. Prosecutors countered that there was no legal basis to exclude the interview from the proceedings.
The interview was previously featured in former Los Angeles Police Department Detective Greg Kading's book, "Murder Rap: The Untold Story of the Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur Murder Investigations." Portions of the recording have also been played in documentaries.
Shakur was shot multiple times on Sept. 7, 1996, in Las Vegas. He and Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight were stopped at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled alongside them near the Las Vegas Strip, and gunfire erupted. Shakur died six days later, while Knight sustained minor injuries.