In Las Vegas, a murder charge has been filed against the last remaining suspect in Tupac Shakur’s 1996 death.
The Associated Press reports: LAS VEGAS In a long-awaited break in one of hip-hop’s most intriguing mysteries, the man who authorities claim ordered the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996 was caught and charged with murder on Friday.
Investigators had known about Duane “Keffe D” Davis for quite some time since he was one of the first suspects named. On Friday, during a press conference and in court, officials identified him as the ringleader and not the alleged shooter. If you aid someone in committing a crime in Nevada, you might face charges yourself, up to and including murder.
According to Las Vegas police homicide Lt. Jason Johansson, “Duane Davis was the shot caller for this group of individuals that committed this crime,” and “he orchestrated the plan that was carried out.”
In interviews and in his 2019 tell-all biography, “Compton Street Legend,” Davis freely admits that he supplied the pistol used in the drive-by shooting.
On Friday, authorities claimed Davis’s own public statements sparked renewed interest in the case.
The 60-year-old Davis was apprehended early on Friday morning while walking near his house on the outskirts of Las Vegas, hours before prosecutors revealed in court that a Nevada grand jury had indicted the self-proclaimed “gangster” on one count of murder with a dangerous weapon. Next week, he has a court date.
The grand jury also decided to include a sentence enhancement for gang participation, which could add up to 20 years to the murder charge should he be found guilty.
The grand jury hearings started in late July with evidence from former colleagues of Davis, acquaintances of Shakur, and a slate of retired police officers engaged early on in the investigation; hundreds of pages of transcripts were published on Friday, giving a glimpse inside the first month of the proceedings. The jury heard evidence about the deepening schism between Shakur’s Death Row Records and Davis’s Bad Boy Records, which handled Shakur’s rap competitor, Biggie Smalls.
According to one of Davis’s former collaborators, “It started the whole West Coast/East Coast” rivalry that largely dominated the hip-hop culture in the mid-1990s.
Midway through July, Las Vegas police searched Davis’ house in the neighboring city of Henderson, seeking things they said were “concerning the murder of Tupac Shakur.” Davis was the first person to be arrested in connection with the crime.
On Friday, Davis declined an interview request from behind bars, and a counsel for him is not listed in the case files. Davis and his wife did not respond to Friday’s or any other calls or texts sent to them since the hunt began on July 17.
Sister Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur released a statement on Friday celebrating the arrest of her brother, the rapper Tupac Shakur.
“This is no doubt a pivotal moment. The silence of the past 27 years surrounding this case has spoken loudly in our community,” “she remarked. When asked about the death of his brother, he said, “It’s important to me that the world, the country, the justice system, and our people acknowledge the gravity of the passing of this man, my brother, my mother’s son, my father’s son.”
Shakur was a passenger in a BMW driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight on the evening of September 7, 1996. When a white Cadillac came up next to them at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip, a shooting erupted.
After being shot many times, Shakur passed away at the age of 25.
According to his narrative, Davis claims he was sitting in the front passenger seat of the Cadillac when the rounds were fired from the rear.
He said that his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, was one of two passengers in the trunk. Shakur’s opponent, Anderson, had just been engaged in a fight with the rapper at a casino.
Lieutenant Johansson of the police force said, “Little did anyone know that this incident right here would ultimately lead to the retaliatory shooting and death of Tupac Shakur.”
Sadly, Anderson passed away two years later. He strongly denied responsibility for Shakur’s murder.
Two attorneys who have represented Knight in the past did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. Knight was just lightly hurt when a bullet fragment touched him. A voluntary manslaughter conviction in California landed him 28 years behind bars.
On the evening of July 17, police covertly surrounded Davis’s residence in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Associated Press was given access to police body cam footage showing SWAT officers arresting a man and his wife outside a house with flashing red and blue lights. The videos feature the pair with their faces obscured.
Two “tubs containing photographs” and a copy of Davis’ book were among the items seized by the police, along with various laptops, a smartphone, a hard drive, a Vibe magazine featuring Shakur, and several others.40-caliber bullets, and multiple copies of Davis’ memoir.
Greg Kading, a retired LAPD investigator who spent years looking into the Shakur murder and wrote a book about it, claims he is not surprised by Davis’s capture.
Kading said, “He put himself squarely in the middle of the conspiracy,” adding that Davis himself provided Las Vegas police “the ammunition and leverage to move forward.”
Kading said he expected the murder charge as well, on the grounds that Davis’ statements publicly demonstrated Davis’ intent to kill.
There were “no other direct conspirators or participants,” and they are “all dead,” Kading claimed. To paraphrase, “Keefe D is the last man standing among the individuals that conspired to kill Tupac.”
The death of the rapper occurred when his fourth solo album, “All Eyez on Me,” was still on the charts, having sold roughly 5 million copies. Shakur was nominated for a Grammy Award six times and is still widely regarded as one of the most important and adaptable rappers of all time.
