The man accused of masterminding Tupac Shakur’s killing personally handed the firearm to the men who carried out the deadly Las Vegas ambush, prosecutors told jurors Monday, as one of America’s most infamous cold cases finally moved to trial.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, was not the gunman in the 1996 drive-by shooting, prosecutors acknowledged. But they allege he engineered the revenge attack, provided the weapon and helped set in motion the violence that ended the life of the 25-year-old rap legend.
“Let’s be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation for the beating of his nephew,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told the jury.
“Remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself,” Palal added.
Davis has pleaded not guilty to murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
His defense lawyer quickly rejected the prosecution’s dramatic account, calling the case “fiction” and arguing that authorities lack credible evidence tying Davis to responsibility for Shakur’s murder.
Prosecutors began the landmark trial by revisiting the night of September 7, 1996, focusing on the confrontation they say sparked the fatal attack on Tupac Shakur.
Earlier that evening, after a Mike Tyson fight, surveillance footage showed Shakur and members of his entourage attacking Davis’s nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, inside the MGM Grand hotel.
Former mobster Duane Davis faces possible life in prison if convicted over the murder of Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur (pictured in 1996), was shot dead in a drive-by that year, when he was aged 25
‘On September 7, 1996, Tupac Shakur publicly, on camera, participated in a humiliating beating of Duane Davis’s nephew, Orlando Anderson,’ Palal told the court.
Prosecutors say Davis then spent roughly two hours plotting revenge.
‘Then, two and a half hours later… Tupac is gunned down in a drive-by shooting from a white Cadillac in an act of revenge,’ Palal said.
Davis was a leader in the South Side Compton Crips, while Shakur was closely associated with Death Row Records and its co-founder Marion ‘Suge’ Knight.
Prosecutors say Death Row was protected by members of Mob Piru, which was affiliated with the Bloods, while rival Bad Boy Records had used members of the South Side Compton Crips as bodyguards.
Those combustible gang and music-industry rivalries form the backdrop to a killing that has fascinated hip-hop fans for three decades.
After leaving the Tyson fight, Shakur was riding in a black BMW driven by Knight when a white Cadillac pulled alongside them and gunfire erupted.
Shakur was struck multiple times and died six days later. Knight was grazed by bullets but survived.
An illustration is displayed during the Duane Davis murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas
Duane Davis listens as Brent Becker, a retired Las Vegas Metro Police Department homicide detective, testifies by video feed during his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of Tupac
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Prosecutors allege Davis was inside the Cadillac and handed a gun to the men sitting in its back seat before the fatal shots were fired.
And central to their case will be Davis’s own words.
In a 2008 interview with a federal task force investigating the murder of Shakur’s rival Christopher ‘The Notorious B.I.G.’ Wallace, Davis discussed the Tupac killing and described handing a gun to the men in the Cadillac’s back seat.
As prosecutors played audio of Davis discussing the shooting on Monday, members of Shakur’s family, including his stepbrother Maurice ‘Mopreme’ Shakur, listened intently from the courtroom gallery.
Palal portrayed Davis as a man whose anger toward Shakur endured for decades – and who repeatedly talked about the killing when so many others refused to do so.
While few people were willing to discuss the case, the prosecutor said, Davis was the ‘one person who has a hard time being silent.’
‘Over the years, in private interviews, in public statements, and even in private calls, Duane Davis has repeatedly told us over and over again about the anger he felt, and his own role in the revenge drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur,’ Palal said.
Prosecutors say Davis spoke to the FBI in 1998 and 1999 and acknowledged being in Las Vegas when Shakur was shot.
Duane Davis appears in court during his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur
Rapper Tupac Shakur was just 25 when he died six days after being shot multiple times in the September 1996 drive-by attack in Las Vegas
Palal said Davis admitted his role in the killing during a 2009 interview with Las Vegas police.
Then came Davis’s 2019 memoir, ‘Compton Street Legend,’ in which he recounted being in the Cadillac’s front seat and handing a pistol to those sitting behind him.
‘And now, nearly 30 years later, we’re going to ask you to finally hold Duane Davis accountable,’ Palal told jurors.
Davis has since walked back his previous accounts, arguing that claims surrounding his involvement were exaggerated bluster and material created with a ghostwriter to sell books.
But that defense could face another uncomfortable complication: Davis has reportedly been attempting to turn his notorious story into a Hollywood movie.
Filmmaker Richard ‘R.J.’ Bond, a longtime Davis supporter who has advocated for his acquittal, told the New York Post that Davis has been shopping his memoir, ‘Compton Street Legend,’ as the basis for a feature film and discussing possible projects from behind bars.
‘It’s extremely disingenuous to make a claim that your book is fiction and still be trying to sell it as if a fact,’ Bond told the Post. ‘I have some concerns it may jeopardize his defense.’
Bond said he has supported Davis for years, grown close to his family and even helped defense attorney Michael Sanft prepare for the case.
‘I have advocated for an acquittal for him for years,’ Bond said. ‘It appears that his desperation and his motive to get paid far outweighs any loyalties that he has.’
Sanft rejected suggestions that the reported movie discussions undermined his client’s defense, warning that ‘conjecture and speculation’ should not overshadow the evidence presented at trial.
Prosecutors have built much of their case around Davis’s own statements, including police interviews, media appearances and his memoir, while Davis maintains his purported admissions were made for ‘fame and fortune.’
The case nevertheless lacks a recovered murder weapon and a living eyewitness who can directly identify Davis as being inside the Cadillac, issues his defense is expected to seize upon as it attempts to dismantle the prosecution’s case.
Davis’ attorney Michael Sanft launched a blistering attack on the prosecution’s case Monday, arguing that investigators had known for years that Davis was unreliable.
‘What they are telling you, they’re representing to be a fact when it really is a fiction, and it’s up to you to determine what the facts are,’ Sanft told jurors. ‘There’s no facts.’
Sanft argued Davis had not been charged previously because law enforcement knew he was ‘full of c**p.’
He also attacked the original investigation, pointing to missing documents, distrust between police departments and work by one detective he characterized as ‘biased,’ ‘sloppy’ and ‘incomplete.’
Davis sat quietly in court wearing a blue suit and tie, his hands folded on the table. He occasionally nodded during his attorney’s opening and scanned the gallery during testimony.
Jurors also heard from retired Las Vegas police officer Garry Dale, who encountered Shakur twice during the rapper’s final night.
Dale testified that he and another officer initially stopped Knight and Shakur’s BMW because it was missing a license plate, gave them a warning and allowed them to continue.
About 10 minutes later, the officers received a shooting call.
When Dale arrived, emergency workers were pulling the mortally wounded rapper from the car.
Knight, despite being wounded himself, told officers to take care of Shakur, Dale testified.
Dale rode in the ambulance and asked Shakur who had shot him.
According to the retired officer, Shakur responded with words to the effect of: ‘No, we’ll take care of it.’
Former Las Vegas homicide detective Brent Becker also described the wall of silence investigators encountered after the murder.
Becker said Knight arrived for a police interview accompanied by attorneys despite being a victim himself and appeared timid and rehearsed while claiming he knew nothing.
‘I thought he lied to us,’ Becker said in recorded testimony.
Another witness, Ingrid Stokes, described being close to Knight’s BMW when the gunfire erupted.
She and her friends fled in terror and nearly collided with a white four-door vehicle, she testified.
Stokes said fear of retaliation was one reason people were reluctant to publicly discuss what they knew.
‘Snitches get stitches,’ she told the court.
Davis is the only person ever charged in Shakur’s killing. The other three men prosecutors say were inside the Cadillac have all since died.
Prosecutors expect to call between 35 and 45 witnesses during the trial, which is expected to last about a month.
