Man who 'ordered the death' of Tupac Shakur indicted on murder charge
Police allege Duane "Keffe D" Davis was the “on-ground, on-site commander” who “ordered the death” of Shakur.
LEARN MOREPosted: 1:49 p.m. EDT Oct 4, 2023
Duane Keith Davis, also known as "Keffe D," made his first court appearance since being arrested in connection to the murder of rap legend Tupac Shakur.
Davis' hearing in a Las Vegas courtroom lasted approximately 30 seconds. He told Judge Tierra Jones he'd retained an attorney to represent him and his attorney had asked for a continuance of two weeks.
Jones ordered Davis to appear in court again on Oct. 19.
Shakur was killed in a shooting on the Las Vegas Strip on Sept. 7, 1996.
In the decades since, speculation has swirled around who actually fired the fatal shots. In recent years, Davis has spoken publicly about Shakur's killing — comments that police and prosecutors used to secure his indictment and arrest last week.
Shakur and Marion "Suge" Knight, his Death Row Records boss, were in a black BMW on Las Vegas Boulevard when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them and shots were fired.
Davis, his nephew Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, Deandrae "Dre" Smith and Terrence "T-Brown" Brown were the four people in the Cadillac, authorities have claimed.
For many years after the shooting, it was widely believed that Anderson — who died in an unrelated shooting in 1998 — fired the shots that killed Shakur.
In recent testimony before a Clark County grand jury, witnesses told the jury it was actually Dre Smith who fired the gun. Smith reportedly died in 2004 due to health-related issues.
Jurors also heard testimony that Davis was a "shot-caller" in the South Side Crips. Witnesses told the jury no shots would have been fired unless Davis gave the OK, given his position of authority over the other men.
Under Nevada law, those who aid in a crime can still be prosecuted for it.
This story was originally published by Alyssa Roberts at Scripps News Las Vegas.
