Nearly three decades after Tupac Shakur was killed in a 1996 drive-by shooting, Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis has been charged with the rapper’s murder. Prosecutors allege that the former leader of the South Side Compton Crips was the on-site commander who ordered Shakur’s killing.
Prosecutors cite Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis’ memoir and past statements in the Tupac Shakur murder trial
Shakur was leaving the MGM Grand after attending the highly anticipated Mike Tyson vs Bruce Seldon boxing match. While heading to Club 662 in a black BMW, where he was scheduled to perform, he was shot four times on September 7, 1996. Shakur was rushed to the hospital but died on September 13 at the age of 25.
With no witnesses willing to speak to the police, the case went cold for decades. The 63-year-old former street gang leader is now charged with one count of murder with a deadly weapon in Clark County, Nevada.
Prosecutors allege Keefe D planned the shooting after his nephew, Orlando Anderson, got into a fight with Shakur in the lobby of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. They claimed he believed the confrontation required retaliation.
During opening arguments, prosecutors portrayed Keefe D as the alleged leader of the group responsible for the shooting. They also cited his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, which he co-authored. District Court Judge Carli Kierny ruled that prosecutors may introduce excerpts from the memoir as evidence during the trial.
Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal played excerpts from a 2008 interview in which the accuser described pulling alongside Shakur and former Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight’s BMW. He allegedly said he had no clear shot and later gave the weapon to DeAndre “Dre” Smith. He said, “If he would have been on my side, I would have blasted,” reports People.
According to Palal, Smith allegedly hesitated, prompting Orlando ‘Baby Lane’ Anderson to take the gun and fire. Anderson denied involvement in Shakur’s death and was killed in Compton in 1998.
Keefe D has pleaded not guilty to the charge. During the defense’s opening statement, his attorney called the prosecution’s narrative fiction. If convicted, he could face life in prison. The trial is expected to last about a month, potentially putting the verdict around the anniversary of Shakur’s death.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK KEEFE D’S OWN WORDS COULD HELP CONVICT HIM?
