Tupac Shakur Killing: Ex-Gang Leader Faces Trial 30 Years Later

Nearly 30 years after the killing of American rapper Tupac Shakur, the trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the only person ever charged in connection with the case, has begun in Las Vegas.

Jury selection got underway on Monday in Clark County District Court, where Davis, 63, is facing a murder charge over Shakur’s September 1996 killing. Prosecutors allege that Davis orchestrated the fatal shooting, although he is not accused of being the person who fired the shots.

Shakur, one of the most influential figures in hip-hop, was shot in a drive-by attack on September 7, 1996, while riding in a car driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight in Las Vegas.

The rapper was taken to hospital and died six days later, aged 25. The killing remained unsolved for decades, becoming one of the most closely watched cold cases in the United States.

Prosecutors allege that Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, helped organise the attack after an altercation involving his nephew, Orlando Anderson, and Shakur earlier that night. Authorities say Davis obtained the weapon used in the shooting and directed the operation.

Davis has pleaded not guilty and maintains his innocence. His defence is expected to challenge the reliability of statements he made over the years about his alleged involvement.

Those statements are expected to form a significant part of the prosecution’s case. A Nevada judge recently ruled that a 2008 police interview given by Davis could be admitted as evidence at trial. The court also ruled in June that his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, could be used by prosecutors.

In the memoir and previous public accounts, Davis described being in the vehicle involved in the shooting and acknowledged providing the gun, although he has disputed the interpretation of some of his past statements.

Davis was arrested in September 2023 after investigators renewed efforts to solve the case. He was subsequently charged with murder with a deadly weapon, with an allegation that the killing was connected to gang activity. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment without parole.

The other three people prosecutors say were in the vehicle with Davis on the night of the shooting are now dead, leaving Davis as the only person charged in the case. It remains unclear who actually fired the shots that killed Shakur.

The trial is expected to last several weeks, with prosecutors and defence lawyers set to present evidence concerning the events leading up to the shooting and Davis’s alleged role in the attack.