Prosecutors are expected to rely heavily on the defendant’s own account, including passages from a memoir in which he described his role in arranging the shooting that killed Tupac Shakur.
LAS VEGAS — Nearly three decades after gunfire on a Las Vegas street ended Tupac Shakur’s life, jurors are set to hear opening statements Monday in the trial of the man accused of helping plan the fatal attack.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder with use of a deadly weapon, with prosecutors alleging the killing was carried out to promote, advance or assist a criminal gang. If found guilty, Davis could spend the rest of his life in prison.
The drive-by shooting remained one of hip-hop’s most notorious unsolved cases for decades, fueling public fascination and speculation until Davis was formally indicted in 2023.
Shakur, who was just 25 when he died, remains one of music’s most enduring figures — celebrated as a gifted, influential and genre-shaping rapper. He earned six Grammy nominations and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
His legacy has continued to grow in recent years, with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a street in Oakland renamed in his honor and even a character inspired by him in the forthcoming video game “Stranger than Heaven.”
The trial is expected to stretch over several weeks. Prosecutors plan to present testimony from roughly 35 to 45 possible witnesses, while the defense is expected to call only a small number of witnesses of its own.
Members of Shakur’s family are expected to attend Monday’s proceedings. His stepbrother, Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur, recently told The Associated Press that being in court will reopen painful wounds for the family, but said their presence matters.
“We’re gonna stand by Pac as we always have,” he said.
All eyes on Tupac
Along with Shakur’s family, friends and fans traveled to Las Vegas to show their support during jury selection.
Darryl Harper, a veteran music producer who collaborated with Shakur at Death Row Records on songs released after the 1996 shooting, said he booked a plane ticket as soon as the latest trial date was set.
“He became a personal friend of mine as I worked with him almost every day of his last days here,” said Harper, who flew in from his home in Georgia.
Harper hopes the trial will reveal the truth about who was involved with the shooting.
“My prayer is that it’s the right person,” he said outside the court during jury selection. “If he’s the right person, then I’m glad that Tupac would get some kind of redemption finally. I think he deserves it.”
Shakur’s cousins Kendrick Lesane and William Lesane flew in from Atlanta to watch jury selection. William Lesane said he wants someone held accountable.
“For me, justice has long left the station 30 years ago,” he said.
Prosecutors allege that Davis was the shot-caller
Prosecutors aren’t claiming Davis pulled the trigger. Rather, they say he organized the shooting to get revenge after Shakur and his entourage beat up Davis’ nephew at the MGM Grand hours before Shakur was shot.
The gunfire came from a white Cadillac that Davis was in with three others, all who have since died.
In 2008, Davis spoke to investigators looking into the deaths of Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace. During the investigation, Davis was under an agreement that what he said about Shakur’s killing couldn’t be used against him. But nearly 10 years later, Davis published a book with those details and participated in media interviews in which he laid out his role in the shooting.
The book and his public statements revived the Las Vegas investigation and became key pieces of evidence, prosecutors say.
“Had he decided to never write the book, he would not, probably, have ever been prosecuted for the crime,” prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo recently said.
Defense argues that the book is fictionalized
Davis’ attorney Michael Sanft says Davis co-authored the book “Compton Street Legend” to make money, not to tell the truth. He argues it’s impossible to tell which parts — if any — Davis wrote and which parts author Yusuf Jah penned.
Jah, who is on the list of potential witnesses, recently told an investigator that he didn’t believe Davis fully read his own book, according to court documents.
Prosecutors say the book is sensationalized but that they’ll show “what is true, what is exaggeration, and what is an outright lie,” they wrote in court documents.
Davis recently told Las Vegas television station Fox 5 that he actually wasn’t there the night Shakur was shot. In his book though, he says he carpooled from Los Angeles to Las Vegas that night to watch the same boxing match Shakur attended. It describes where he stayed, and the events before and after Shakur was shot.
