The jury trial for Duane “Keffe D” Davis, accused of orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed rapper Tupac Shakur, is scheduled to begin Aug. 10 in Las Vegas. Davis, 63, pleaded not guilty to one count of murder with a deadly weapon.
Shakur was a passenger in a black BMW driven by Marion “Suge” Knight when a white Cadillac pulled alongside their vehicle near the Las Vegas Strip on Sept. 7, 1996. Gunfire erupted, wounding Knight and fatally striking Shakur, who died a week later at age 25. Knight survived the shooting.
Prosecutors allege the shooting was connected to a rivalry between East Coast and West Coast factions of the Bloods and Crips gangs, with Davis reportedly leading a Compton, California, sect of the Bloods. Davis has claimed in his 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” that he and Knight were the only living eyewitnesses to the events of that night.
At the time of the shooting, Davis said he was in the Cadillac with three other individuals, none of whom have faced charges in Shakur’s killing as they have since died. Davis has identified Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, Keefe D’s nephew, as the gunman. Davis stated that Anderson was beaten in a brawl at the MGM Grand casino involving Shakur and his associates shortly before the shooting, and that the shooting was retaliation.
Davis said he obtained a handgun from an associate and placed it in the back seat of the Cadillac, but he did not specify who fired the shots. Anderson was seated in the back seat of the Cadillac, behind Davis.
Anderson, who denied involvement in Shakur’s killing, died two years later in an unrelated shooting. Another individual in the car, DeAndre “Big Dre” Smith, was also identified as a potential shooter by a former associate of Davis. This associate testified before a grand jury that Smith fired the shots after taking the gun from Anderson, and that Anderson later claimed credit for the death.
Terrence “T-Roc” Brown was driving the Cadillac. Davis recounted in his memoir that after spotting Shakur, he instructed Brown to make a U-turn and drive slowly past the rapper’s convoy.
Authorities have not recovered the Cadillac or the weapon used in the shooting. Retired Las Vegas police Detective Clifford Mogg testified to a grand jury that investigators were unable to identify the person who rented the car or recover the firearm.
Shakur is widely regarded as one of the most influential rappers of all time. He achieved commercial success with five No. 1 albums and received six Grammy nominations. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.
His mother, Afeni Shakur, and stepfather, Mutulu Shakur, were active in the Black Panther Party. Shakur was born Lesane Parish Crooks in New York in 1971.
Knight, the founder of Death Row Records, which represented Shakur at the time of his death, is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence in California for a 2015 conviction of voluntary manslaughter. He was found guilty of running over and killing a businessman outside a Compton burger stand.
Davis’ arrest occurred in September 2023. His jury trial is set to begin nearly three years after his arrest.