THE death of the primary suspect in Tupac Shakur’s drive-by shooting left the rapper’s case cold for decades before the high-profile arrest of a Compton street gang leader.
Duane “Keefe D” Davis , 63, is the in connection with the infamous shooting of Shakur , 25, near the Las Vegas Strip on September 7, 1996.
Rapper Tupac Shakur was 25 years old at the time of his death Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis looks on during the first day of jury selection on Monday in his murder trial related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Credit: AP
has boasted about his involvement in the shooting, including admitting in interviews to being one of the four people inside the white Cadillac that opened fire at the BMW were driving.
Over the years, retired law enforcement officials have stated that the four individuals inside the Cadillac were , Terrence “Bubble Up” Brown, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, and Deandre “Freaky” Smith.
All four were members associated with the Southside Compton Crips, a rival street gang to the Compton Bloods set linked to Knight .
Investigators have long suspected Anderson, Davis’ nephew, as the triggerman who opened fire at Shakur from the back seat.
The drive-by was allegedly a retaliatory gang hit against Shakur and Knight after the two and their entourage following Mike Tyson’s heavyweight boxing fight.
Anderson was once named a suspect in Shakur’s murder, however, he was never charged due to lack of evidence.
Two years after Shakur’s death, Anderson also fell victim to gang violence when he was fatally shot at a car wash in Compton in May 1998.
Investigators said Anderson, who was 23 years old at the time of his death, and another man – both members of the Southside Crips, drove up to a car wash where several members of a rival gang had gathered.
An altercation ensued and then quickly escalated into a shootout, according to police.
Four people were injured, while Anderson and another man died from their injuries a short time later.
Orlando ‘Baby Lane’ Anderson, Davis’ nephew, has long been suspected by authorities as the triggerman who opened fire on Tupac Shakur’s vehicle on the night of September 7, 1996 Credit: JDMC
Davis’ trial is expected to last four weeks Credit: AP
Michael Dorrough was arrested and convicted of the murders in October 1999.
Now, decades after his nephew’s killing, Davis is finally set to stand trial for the murder of Shakur.
Ahead of his trial, Davis has repeatedly sought to distance himself from the shooting and claimed he was seeking royalties from the about being the shot caller in Shakur’s murder.
“I wasn’t in Las Vegas. They can’t prove it,” Davis told Fox affiliate KVVU .
Davis also detached himself from his memoir, Compton Street Legend, claiming he never wrote the book and only told a ghostwriter aspects of his life.
“I never wrote that book. I just gave him things about my life and I gave him some pictures,” Davis said in a prison interview, referring to the book’s co-author Yusuf Jah.
“He just did research and some stuff like that. He and my lawyer did. My lawyer died, and signed on to it with him. I never read it or nothing.”
outside his home in Henderson, Nevada, in September 2023 and has maintained his innocence.
The prosecution’s case against Davis will rely heavily on his own self-incriminating remarks, where he portrayed himself as the gang’s ringleader and orchestrated the shooting on the night of September 7, 1996.
Prosecutors have a list of 45 potential witnesses that they plan to call to the stand, including Knight, Reggie Wright Jr., the former head of security of Death Row Records, former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Republican Governor and former Las Vegas Metro officer Joe Lombardo, and several of Shakur’s relatives.
Tupac and Suge Knight are pictured inside a BMW moment before the fatal shooting Credit: Grand Jury Las Vegas exhibits courtesy of JDMC
Shakur was shot multiple times and ultimately died from his injuries Credit: JDMC
However, Knight, who is serving a 28-year sentence after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter in 2018, is .
“This trial has nothing to do with me and if somebody brings me there, it’s gonna hurt whoever brings me there. I promise you that,” Knight told ABC News .
“They make me come there against my will, if Keefe D’s lawyers bring me there, it don’t look good for him.
“If the prosecution brings me there, it don’t look good for them. Leave me out of it.”
A defiant Knight, who has long ties with the Compton Bloods street gang, called taking the stand and testifying against someone worse than killing them.
“My loyalty to Tupac can never be compromised,” he told the outlet.
“Me as a man, what I believe in, can’t be compromised. I’m not there to help [Davis], and I’m damn sure not there to hurt him.
“To actually get on the stand, and point somebody out, it’s worse than taking a gun and shooting that man in the head.
“Because if you shoot a person in the head, they die once. If you get on the stand and you snitch on that person, they die a million times.
“I am not going to be responsible for sending another man to prison for the rest of his life. If God’s forgiving, who am I to think I’m bigger than God and don’t forgive? Because I’m not.”
Knight believes his testimony does not matter because Davis already “told on himself” after spending years conducting interviews about his involvement in Shakur’s murder.
“He felt he was untouchable,” Knight told the outlet.
“He wanted to talk bad about ‘Pa, he wanted to just talk, talk, talk, talk. He kept talking until they put handcuffs on him.
“Everything he said and talked about, he already told on himself. So what are you going to do?
“Erase all the recordings of the interviews he did?”
Davis’ trial is expected to last four weeks.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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