September 30, 2023
LAS VEGAS, USA | – A grand jury has indicted Duane Keith “Keffe D” Davis on murder charges with the use of a deadly weapon in connection with the 1996 killing of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur. This announcement was made by Las Vegas authorities, marking a long-awaited breakthrough in a case that has captivated the world for nearly three decades.
Davis, 60 years old, was arrested in Las Vegas on Friday morning as part of ongoing investigations into the shooting. The search of his wife’s Henderson home in July played a crucial role in this renewed effort to solve the murder mystery that has puzzled investigators for years.
Tupac Shakur, a rap legend, was tragically shot and killed while leaving a boxing match on the Las Vegas Strip at the young age of 25. His untimely death has sparked conspiracy theories and a decades-long quest for justice.
During a Friday news conference, authorities portrayed Davis as the orchestrator of a plot to retaliate against Shakur after an altercation involving his nephew. Davis has long maintained his presence at the crime scene, claiming he was in the front seat of the white Cadillac that pulled up beside Shakur’s car when the fatal shots were fired from the back seat. Shakur sustained four gunshot wounds and passed away six days later.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill expressed, “For 27 years, the family of Tupac Shakur has been waiting for justice. The investigation began on the night of September 7th, 1996. It is far from over. It has taken countless hours, really decades, of work by the men and women of our homicide section to get to where we are today.”
According to Jason Johansson, the police department’s homicide lieutenant, the murder was a retaliatory attack stemming from a conflict between two rival gangs based in Compton, California. Shakur and Marion “Suge” Knight, the former CEO of Death Row Records, were associated with the Mob Piru gang in Compton, while Davis was affiliated with the Southside Compton Crips.
The sequence of events leading to the murder unfolded on the night of a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand Hotel. Members of the Southside Compton Crips, including Davis and his nephew Orlando Anderson, also attended the event.
Johansson presented hotel surveillance footage showing a confrontation in which Shakur and Knight were among those involved in assaulting Anderson. Johansson emphasized, “Little did anyone know that it is this incident right here that would ultimately lead to the retaliatory shooting and death of Tupac Shakur.”
Following the attack on Anderson, Davis devised a plan to obtain a firearm and seek revenge against Suge Knight and Tupac Shakur. Armed with a gun from an associate, Davis, accompanied by Terrence Brown, Deandre Smith, and Anderson, approached the black BMW carrying Shakur and Knight. Shots were fired through the window, and the assailants immediately fled the scene.
Johansson stated, “Duane Davis was the shot-caller for this group of individuals that committed this crime. He orchestrated the plan that was carried out to commit this crime.” All other individuals involved in the crime have since passed away, including Orlando Anderson, who denied his involvement before his death in a gang-related shooting in 1998.
While the sequence of events had long been known, the case lacked sufficient evidence to move forward. The renewed effort to solve the case gained momentum in 2018 when Davis provided crucial admissions regarding the crime.
When police searched Davis’ wife’s home in July, they discovered a memoir authored by Davis, in which he detailed street gang life and Shakur’s murder. Davis described himself as one of only two living witnesses to the shooting, the other being Suge Knight, who is currently serving time in prison for manslaughter in an unrelated case.
Greg Kading, a former police detective who had investigated the case, revealed that Davis had confessed to his role in the murder in 2009. However, this information could not be used against him due to a proffer agreement—a legal arrangement where a suspect provides potentially useful information but statements made generally cannot be used as evidence against the suspect.
Johansson emphasized that the 2018 focus on the case was a final attempt to successfully resolve the decades-old mystery.
Tupac’s stepbrother, Mopreme Shakur, also a rapper, expressed mixed feelings about Davis’ arrest, stating, “We have been through decades of pain. They have known about this guy, who’s been running his mouth, for years. So why now? For us, this is not over. We want to know why, and if there were any accomplices.”
Tupac Shakur’s remarkable career was cut short, but his influence on music, style, and culture endures. He released 11 platinum albums, used his music to address social issues, and engaged in a high-profile rivalry with East Coast rapper Biggie Smalls, whose unsolved murder remains another tragic chapter in hip-hop history.
