The murder trial of former gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis over the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur opened Monday in Las Vegas.
DR reports that the 63-year-old Davis, a former gang leader, is charged over the shooting of the rapper, known by the stage name 2Pac. Prosecutors aim to prove that Davis ordered the killing and supplied the weapon used.
Reuters reports that Davis has pleaded not guilty as the trial gets under way in Las Vegas. According to DR, proceedings are expected to last about a month and are unlikely to establish who actually fired the shots.
Shakur was shot on the night of September 7, 1996. He was in Las Vegas to watch a Mike Tyson boxing match when gunfire came from a passing Cadillac. He died in the hospital six days later at the age of 25.
Davis has previously been identified as a leader of the South Side Compton Crips. If he is convicted, he faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. DR describes the case as one of the most high-profile unsolved killings in the United States.
The investigation stalled for decades due to a lack of evidence. The shelved case was reopened after Davis published his memoir in 2019. In the book, he said he sat in the front seat of the Cadillac that drove past Shakur and handed a pistol to the men in the back seat.
Davis did not name the shooter in the book. Everyone else who was in the car that night has since died, according to DR. He was arrested in September 2023 on the basis of those statements.
He has since walked back the account and denies the charges. In an interview with ABC News from prison in March 2025, Davis said he was innocent and had never killed anyone. He also claimed his co-author had exaggerated the book to increase sales.
A case tied to a 1990s music rivalry
Shakur was an award-winning rapper, activist and actor who sold more than 75 million albums worldwide. He was known for hits including “California Love” and “All Eyez on Me.” He was a central figure in the rivalry between the American East and West Coast hip-hop scenes.
DR notes that the trial is likely to revive the feud between Death Row Records in Los Angeles and Bad Boy Records in New York City. Bad Boy Records was founded in 1993 by Sean “Diddy” Combs, who has faced police and media scrutiny over allegations of human trafficking, rape, extortion and sexual abuse of women.
The label’s biggest star was Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace. He was shot dead in Los Angeles in 1997 by gunfire from a passing car, six months after Shakur was killed.
