Man Arrested and Charged in Tupac Shakur’s 1996 Murder: DA

‘It has often been said that justice delayed is justice denied,’ said District Attorney Steve Wolfson on Friday.
Man Arrested and Charged in Tupac Shakur’s 1996 Murder: DA
Rapper Tupac Shakur attends a voter registration event in South Central Los Angeles on Aug. 15, 1996. Frank Wiese/AP Photo
Jack Phillips
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A man who was a witness to the fatal shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996 was charged with murder Friday in the slaying, prosecutors announced on Friday.

A Nevada grand jury indicted Duane “Keffe D” Davis on one count of murder with a deadly weapon, Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo announced in court Friday, according reporters at the courthouse.

Mr. Davis has long been known to investigators and has himself admitted in interviews and in his 2019 tell-all memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” that he was in the Cadillac from which gunfire erupted during the September 1996 drive-by shooting that left Shakur, 25, dead.

The prosecutor said Friday that evidence shows that Mr. Davis “ordered the death” of Shakur and also described the suspect as the “on-site commander.”

“It has often been said that justice delayed is justice denied,” District Attorney Steve Wolfson told The Associated Press after a court hearing Friday, saying that the grand jury has heard evidence in the case for months. “In this case, justice has been delayed, but justice won’t be denied.”

Mr. DiGiacomo added that “the presumption is great that he is responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur, and he will be found guilty of murder with use of a deadly weapon,” reported AFP.
(L–R) Las Vegas police Lt. Jason Johansson, Sheriff Kevin McMahill, and Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson attends a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Las Vegas on Sept. 29, 2023. (John Locher/AP Photo)
(L–R) Las Vegas police Lt. Jason Johansson, Sheriff Kevin McMahill, and Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson attends a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Las Vegas on Sept. 29, 2023. John Locher/AP Photo

Shakur, who was one of the most popular rappers in the country at the time, was shot in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas before he died about a week later in September 1996. His death has remained an unsolved mystery for 27 years, with no arrests until now.

Mr. Davis previously admitted to being there when the rapper was shot. Reports have said that Mr. Davis is the only living witness who was in the vehicle when Shakur was gunned down in the drive-by shooting.

“When we pulled up, I was in the front seat,” he said of the incident for the documentary, “Unsolved: the Tupac and Biggie Murders.” He didn’t name the individual who pulled the trigger.
“Going to keep it for the code of the streets,” Mr. Davis added. “It just came from the backseat.”
A black BMW, riddled with bullet holes, in a Las Vegas police impound lot on Sept. 8, 1996. The car, which was driven by Marion "Suge" Knight, was carrying Tupac Shakur when he was fatally gunned down. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File)
A black BMW, riddled with bullet holes, in a Las Vegas police impound lot on Sept. 8, 1996. The car, which was driven by Marion "Suge" Knight, was carrying Tupac Shakur when he was fatally gunned down. AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File

On Friday, Clark County District Judge Jerry Wiese denied Mr. Davis bail, reported AP. It wasn’t immediately clear if the suspect has an attorney who can comment on his behalf.

On Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur was in a BMW driven by infamous Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight in a convoy of about 10 cars. They were waiting at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them and gunfire erupted. Shakur was shot multiple times and died a week later.

“I ended up pulling Tupac out of the car,” former police Lt. Chris Carroll told local outlet KSNV after a search warrant was served for Mr. Davis. “I spoke to him. He was still alive. He was still breathing.”

According to Mr. Carroll, he asked the rapper” who did it, who shot him, what happened? And that’s when he responded to me with the now infamous words ‘F-U.’”

In his memoir, Mr. Davis said he was in the front passenger seat of the Cadillac and had slipped the gun used in the killing into the backseat, from where he said the shots were fired.

Mr. Davis implicated his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, saying he was one of two people in the backseat. Anderson, a known rival of the rapper, had been involved in a casino brawl with Shakur shortly before the shooting. Anderson denied any involvement in the rapper’s death. Anderson was shot and killed in a 1998 gang shooting in Los Angeles.

After the casino brawl, “Mr. Davis formulated a plan to exact revenge upon Mr. Knight and Mr. Shakur” in his nephew’s defense, Mr. DiGiacomo said Friday.

On Friday, the rapper’s stepbrother, Mopreme Shakur, told CNN that the arrest is “bittersweet.” However, he said the family still wants to know the reason why and if Mr. Davis had accomplices.

“We have been through decades of pain. They have known about this guy, who been running his mouth, for years,” he said. “So why now?” he added. “For us, this is not over. We want to know why, and if there were any accomplices.”

The 1996 murder was followed six months later by the gunning down of  his main rival, Brooklyn-based rapper Christopher “The Notorious BIG” Wallace. Some believe that the two were killed as part of the infamous 1990s rivalry that had existed between rappers on the West and East Coasts, although some analysts have said that the rift was exaggerated to sell more albums.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Breaking News Reporter
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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