Prosecutors Point to Duane Davis’ Memoir as Tupac Murder Trial Begins, While Defense Says Client Is ‘Full of Crap’

Duane “Keefe D” Davis is charged with one count of murder with a deadly weapon for allegedly orchestrating the drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur in 1996, he has pleaded not guilty. On the first day of the trial, Davis’ own lawyer portrayed his client as a deceptive storyteller.

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Duane “Keefe D” Davis has been charged with Tupac Shakur’s murder and pleaded not guilty

Inside the courtroom, as the trial began, Davis’ lawyer portrayed his client as a deceptive storyteller

He faces one count of murder with a deadly weapon, with an allegation that he acted with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang

Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was gunned down in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting, his murder trial has begun.

On Monday, Aug. 17, prosecutors laid out their case against Duane “Keefe D” Davis, accusing him of orchestrating the rapper’s killing as “an act of revenge.” Meanwhile, Davis’ own defense attorney argued that his client is a storyteller whose many claims about the case cannot be trusted.

In his opening statement on the first day of Davis’ trial in Las Vegas, Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal pointed jurors to Davis’ own words, including a “secret 2008 interview” with authorities, public statements, interviews and his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, which brought renewed attention to the case.

“In this world, silence means survival,” Palal told jurors. “The one person who has had a hard time being silent is Duane Davis.”

Davis’ attorney, Michael Sanft, took an unusual approach in his opening, portraying his client as someone known for embellishing stories. At one point, Sanft displayed the phrase “bulls---” on a screen in court, while discussing Davis’ statements to investigators.

“He was never charged for any of what he said during that time period, and it’s because they knew he was full of crap,” Sanft added. “Otherwise they would have.”

Palal played snippets of Davis’ 2008 interview as Davis, dressed in a blue suit and tie, watched on. Members of Shakur’s family, including his stepbrother Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur and sister Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, sat quietly in the front row of the courtroom behind prosecutors.

In the recording played in court, Davis described his vehicle making a U-turn and pulling up alongside the black BMW carrying Shakur and Suge Knight near the Las Vegas Strip on Sept. 7, 1996.

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Speaking in a low, mumbling voice, Davis said the driver, Terrence “T-Brown” Brown, pulled up alongside the passenger side of Knight’s BMW, leaving Davis, who was seated in the front passenger seat, without a clear shot.

“If he would have been on my side, I would have blasted,” Davis allegedly said in the recording, which was presented in court. Asked about the alleged murder weapon, Davis said, “I gave it to Dre,” referring to DeAndre “Dre” Smith, who was seated in the back seat behind Brown.

Palal told jurors that Smith allegedly hesitated, prompting Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, to grab the gun and open fire. Anderson, who denied any role in Shakur’s death, was fatally shot in Compton in 1998.

Davis faces one count of murder with a deadly weapon, with an allegation that he acted with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. Prosecutors do not allege that Davis pulled the trigger. Instead, they say he helped orchestrate the shooting and supplied the gun used to kill Shakur.

Shakur, who also performed as 2Pac and Makaveli, was shot 30 years ago after leaving the MGM Grand, where he had attended the highly anticipated Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon boxing match. He was riding in a black BMW when a white Cadillac pulled alongside them at a red light on the Las Vegas Strip.

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Gunfire erupted. Shakur, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was struck four times in the chest, arm and thigh. Knight, who was driving, was grazed by bullet fragments. Shakur was rushed to the hospital and died six days later, on Sept. 13. He was 25.

The investigation remained unsolved for decades until Davis announced his alleged role in the shooting. Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips and the uncle of Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, was arrested in September 2023. He has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors are not arguing that Davis was the gunman. Instead, they allege that he helped set the shooting in motion after a confrontation involving Anderson and members of Shakur’s entourage at the Vegas hotel earlier that night.

Authorities have alleged that Davis was in the white Cadillac with Anderson and two other men when the vehicle pulled alongside Shakur and Knight’s BMW. Prosecutors say Davis supplied the .40-caliber Glock used in the shooting. However, police never found the gun or the rented white Cadillac.

Under Nevada law, a person can be held criminally responsible for a killing even if they did not personally pull the trigger if they aided and abetted the crime.

The shooting came hours after Shakur and members of the Death Row entourage encountered Anderson in the MGM Grand lobby following the Tyson fight.

Anderson was associated with the South Side Compton Crips, while Knight and Death Row had ties to the Bloods. Earlier that year, Anderson had allegedly been involved in an attempt to take a Death Row-associated chain. When Shakur and his entourage spotted Anderson at the MGM, a fight broke out. Anderson was Davis’ nephew. He died on May 29, 1998, at the age of 23.

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Prosecutors allege that the confrontation provided the motive for the retaliation that culminated in the drive-by shooting.

However, since his arrest, Davis has denied having any role in Shakur’s killing. He has offered different explanations for his previous accounts, including saying he was not in Nevada the night Shakur was shot and that he exaggerated his involvement for entertainment. On Monday, prosecutors were unable to place Davis at the scene.

Davis has also disputed portions of his book, saying his co-author took liberties with the information he provided. District Court Judge Carli Kierny has ruled that portions of the memoir can be introduced as evidence at trial.

Shakur’s killing came during one of the most notorious rivalries in hip-hop, pitting Death Row Records and its West Coast artists against New York-based Bad Boy Records and its artists, including the Notorious B.I.Gor Biggie Smalls, who was killed in a subsequent drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in 1997.

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The feud intensified after Shakur was shot and robbed at a New York recording studio in November 1994. Shakur publicly accused Sean “Diddy” Combs and others associated with Bad Boy of having advance knowledge of the attack.

The rivalry escalated through a series of diss tracks, including Biggie’s “Who Shot Ya” and Shakur’s “Hit ‘Em Up.” In a proffer with Los Angeles police detective Greg Kading, who investigated the murder of Notorious B.I.G. and is expected to testify at Davis’ trial, Davis allegedly claimed that Combs sought protection from the Crips when Bad Boy artists were in Los Angeles.

Davis further alleged that during a meeting at Greenblatt’s Deli in West Hollywood, Combs said he wanted to “get rid of” Knight and Shakur and offered $1 million for the job.

Combs has repeatedly denied any role in Shakur’s killing. He has also denounced a documentary that featured Davis’ allegations, calling it a “shameful hit piece.” Combs has not been charged in connection with Shakur’s death.

The first witnesses on Monday included former Las Vegas police officer Garry Dale, who recalled responding to the shooting and accompanying Shakur to the hospital. Dale testified that when he asked Shakur who the assailants were, the rapper refused to identify them, saying, “No, we’ll take care of it.”

Former homicide detective Brent Becker also testified that Compton gang investigators identified Orlando Anderson as an early suspect after viewing video of the MGM Grand brawl. Becker said Knight, who came in for questioning three nights after the shooting with attorneys, claimed he knew nothing about the incident.

“I thought he lied to us,” Becker testified.

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For Shakur’s family, the questions surrounding his killing have lingered for decades. In April, Tupac’s stepbrother Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against 99 unnamed co-conspirators, alleging that the rapper’s murder involved a broader conspiracy than retaliation for the MGM Grand altercation. The lawsuit argues that some people involved have died while others have never been identified or held accountable.

Now, Davis faces a jury in a case that has remained one of the biggest unsolved murders in music history. The proceedings are expected to last approximately one month, with an extensive witness list of over 200 names, according to the filing. Knight and Shakur’s family are among them.

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