LAS VEGAS – The impending murder trial concerning rap legend Tupac Shakur has taken a dramatic turn as incarcerated music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is now being positioned as a pivotal witness.

Duane Davis, an infamous figure in the Los Angeles crime scene, faces life imprisonment after Clark County prosecutors charged him with Shakur’s 1996 slaying. Davis believes Diddy’s testimony could be crucial in proving his innocence.

Davis’ attorney is optimistic that Diddy will corroborate Davis’s claim that his repeated admissions of orchestrating Tupac’s death were mere fabrications for “fame and fortune.”

This development was verified by a close acquaintance of Davis and his renowned lawyer, Michael Pandullo, during an exclusive interview with JDMC.

Prosecutors have introduced evidence from a police interview where Davis, a former bodyguard for Diddy, alleged that Combs promised him a MILLION DOLLARS for orchestrating Shakur’s demise.

In a detailed confession to Los Angeles police, Davis admitted to organizing Tupac’s murder near the Las Vegas strip as vengeance for an assault on his nephew, Orlando Anderson, by Shakur, Suge Knight, and other members of the infamous Bloods gang.

On that tape Davis alleged that Diddy had promised him a huge payday for killing Shakur and even tried to chase for the money for a couple of years afterwards.

That key recording has the defense lawyers of Davis, known on the streets as “Keefe D”, eyeing up the New York music mogul in wrecking prosecutors’ arguments .

Davis’ high profile lawyer Michael Pandullo believes Combs will call Keefe a liar and insists he invented all these claims. Pandullo, speaking exclusively, claims Diddy sticking to his guns on having no role in Tupac’s death would “weaken the prosecution’s case.”

That narrative would support Pandullo’s key argument that Davis has spent the last 16 years lying about his role in the death of Tupac for fame and fortune, especially after he believed police officers gave him an immunity deal.

Currently Diddy is in jail after being found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution last year.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

Last night a family friend of Davis confirmed: “Duane has made his feelings clear – if Diddy is a witness or makes a statement denying what he told cops then that helps him hugely.

“Another factor is that this case will be a jury trial..and there is a suspicion that celebrities are often seen preferentially. So if Diddy backed up this story it would help immensely.

“And look at this moment Duane has got nothing to lose by getting Diddy to help. There is no way Diddy is going to say ‘oh yes – I did order Tupac’s death.’”

Pandullo confirmed exclusively that Diddy is on their dream witness list.

Asked about Combs taking the stand, Pandullo, speaking from his Vegas office, admitted: “As things stand at the moment, Combs would be a credible witness for the defense.

“We would want him to give evidence, because we would anticipate, like in the past he has denied any involvement (in the Tupac case). There are no logical or practical reasons to believe that he would say
anything different. That would be considered a point in favor of the defense.”

“And there are no circumstances under which Combs would say ‘I did do that.’ Of course he is going to deny it, because otherwise he would be charged with conspiracy to commit murder.”

Pandullo noted that Diddy’s long term stance of never having had any role in the murder “could be exculpatory to Duane.”

Prosecutors charged Davis with murder after boasting to LAPD, Vegas cops, many media interviewers and in his memoir that he oversaw the Tupac killing.

Prosecutors believe Keefe must be found guilty for over a decade of confessions.

Pandullo and partner Robert Draskovich say Keefe invented his entire criminal link to Tupac simply to gain notoriety, fame and fortune.

Davis’s memoir Compton Street Legend, entered as key evidence In the trial, referenced an allegation that Diddy offered him cash to take out Knight and Tupac without any evidence.

The prosecution entered a police interview tape of Davis describing how Diddy allegedly promised the $1m pay out for ‘Pac to be killed.

Keefe told two police investigations in the past that Diddy offered him a fortune for Tupac’s scalp during a meeting at an LA restaurant.

But Diddy taking the stand to deny that would bolster Keefe’s case hugely.

Pandullo argued that the prosecutors’ case would be weakened and added that Diddy has not been called as a witness by them.

“What I do think it shows is a circumstance where it shows that even the state doesn’t believe certain statements that are In Compton Street Legend (Keefe’s memoir), because if they did they maybe would want to call him as a witness.”

Pandullo doubled down on prosecutors not involving Diddy in their investigations or even potentially charging him.

“If (from the state’s case) what Keefe said is true, you wonder why isn’t Combs part of the case?

“My information is the prosecutors did try to develop that theory, but why did they let it go? Because Combs has denied it.

“For their case, believing the theory of the guy that you charged, largely based on his words, Combs should be someone that the state would be at least interested in.Combs has not charged.

“It is complicated. The Diddy theory (that he ordered Davis to kill Tupac) is not something the prosecution seems to be pursuing.

“Maybe the state should be calling him as a witness because if they want to clarify their

“If the prosecution is asking a jury to believe what Duane said on tape took place they may wonder why Diddy is not charged.

“The only question is whether it would potentially benefit Davis more to bring him in and have him say that or to show an insufficiency in the state’s presentation of their case for not clearly stating why they didn’t charge him.

“Is it because the state doesn’t believe in that aspect of Duane’s interview? And if they don’t believe it then what they are saying is at least part of Duane’s previous statements is not true.”

Pandullo believes jurors will doubt prosecutors’ arguments if they “pick and choose” which parts of Davis’ taped confessions are true or relevant.

The criminal defense attorney asserts Keefe’s decision to include false claims against Diddy was motivated by earning large sums of cash from media outlets and notoriety in LA gang circles.

“It’s more salacious. If you’re writing a book where you’re going to say you did something that you didn’t actually do…why not throw in all sorts of people?”

Pac’s friend and Death Row Records boss Suge Knight, the only remaining eye witness to the shooting, will not be a defense witness.

Knight has made a raft of conflicting comments about Davis in recent years insisting he was innocent and then claiming he should be hailed for the crime.

Pandullo added: “At this time because of contradictory statements he has put out, I don’t know if that would be useless testimony for anybody. I wouldn’t anticipate the state calling him.

“Frankly that could be considered structurally better for the defense because if the only eye witness and the state doesn’t call him, that could be a point for the defense.”

Davis has been on remand since August 2023, but remains upbeat.

“Duane was in good spirits when we met on Monday. He is looking forward to when the battery by prisoner case expires and possibly getting another look at bail.

“He is positive. He would like to get out and be with his grandkids. That is something he mentions all the time. “This is an older man who values family.”

The trial is scheduled to start in August, but may be pushed into 2027.