Jury selection begins Monday in Las Vegas for the first murder trial connected to Tupac Shakur's 1996 killing, nearly three decades after the rap icon was gunned down on the Las Vegas Strip. Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, faces one charge of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in Clark County District Court, where Judge Carli Kierny will preside over a trial expected to last about a month.
The prosecution isn't arguing Davis pulled the trigger. They're building their case on something more fundamental to gang prosecution: that he orchestrated the hit and supplied the weapon that killed one of hip-hop's most influential artists. Davis was a leader of the South Side Compton Crips when Shakur was shot multiple times while riding in a black BMW with music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight on Sept. 7, 1996. The rapper, who performed under the stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, died six days later. Knight survived.
The Self-Incriminating Memoir
What revived this cold case wasn't new forensic evidence or witness cooperation. It was Davis' own words. He co-authored a tell-all memoir titled "Compton Street Legends" that describes his exact role in the shooting. The book says Davis obtained a handgun from an associate and tossed it into the back seat of the Cadillac but doesn't identify who fired the fatal shots. He was arrested in 2023 and pleaded not guilty.
Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, Davis' nephew, has long been considered the suspect who actually pulled the trigger, but charges were never brought against him. He died 28 years ago in an unrelated gang shootout in Compton, California. Two others who were in the car with Davis and Anderson—Deandrae "Freaky" Smith and Terry "Bubble Up" Brown—have since died as well. Davis is the only living occupant of that white Cadillac.
The Witness List
Prosecutors expect to call between 35 and 45 witnesses, ranging from people who saw Shakur moments before he was shot to those in both Shakur and Davis' orbits at the time. Their witness list includes former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and members of Shakur's family, though not everyone will necessarily testify. Leonard Jefferson, a California resident who snapped what became the last known photo of Shakur, is expected to testify.
The state will also call Denvonta Lee, who was affiliated with the South Side Crips. In grand jury testimony, Lee said rival gangs—the Crips and Mob Piru—were tied to dueling record labels Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records. Though he wasn't there that night, Lee testified that Anderson didn't have a clear shot, so Smith took the gun and did the shooting. He also said Davis was in charge and gave the gun to Anderson, who gave it to Smith.
Other witnesses include Malcolm Greenidge, a friend of Shakur's who was traveling in his entourage that night, and Reggie Wright, who grew up in Compton and did security for Death Row Records. A former member of Death Row's security team and a former member of Mob Piru who was at Club 662 the night Shakur was shot will also testify. Former police officers, detectives, and gang experts round out the prosecution's case.
The Defense Strategy
Davis' defense attorney is expected to call less than a handful of witnesses, including one expert in the area of false confessions and coercive interrogation techniques. That signals a strategy focused on undermining Davis' own statements rather than disputing the facts of the shooting itself.
The question of who won't testify may be as significant as who will. Knight is serving a 28-year prison sentence in California for running over and killing a Compton businessman outside a burger stand in January 2015. As the only other living eyewitness who was in one of the two vehicles that night, Knight's testimony could make or break the case. He previously said he wouldn't testify. Davis' defense attorney Michael Sanft told The Associated Press that Knight would be a good witness for Davis' defense if he did testify.
Fans have speculated whether Sean "Diddy" Combs will testify. Combs is currently serving a four-year prison sentence in New Jersey following his conviction of prostitution-related charges. In his book, Davis alleged Combs wanted Knight and Shakur dead and offered Davis money to kill them. Combs has long denied having any involvement in the shooting. A spokesperson for Combs didn't return emailed requests asking whether he plans to testify, and his name doesn't appear on any witness list.
Prosecutors requested to have multiple out-of-state witnesses testify, and it's unclear who those people are. One of the witnesses is in prison in California, according to court records.
Why This Matters:
This trial represents the criminal justice system's last chance to hold someone accountable for one of the most notorious unsolved murders in American popular culture. The case hinges on gang prosecution statutes that allow charging someone who orchestrated a killing even if they didn't pull the trigger—a legal framework designed to reach criminal leaders who insulate themselves from direct involvement. The prosecution's reliance on Davis' own memoir and decades-old testimony raises questions about the strength of evidence in cold cases reopened after witnesses have died and memories have faded. For the rule of law, securing a conviction would demonstrate that celebrity cases don't simply go cold because they're difficult. For Davis, the stakes are life in prison based largely on his own published words—a cautionary tale about the permanence of self-incrimination in the age of tell-all memoirs.