The trial of former gang leader Duane “Keefe D” Davis opens in Las Vegas, this Monday, August 10, for the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996. No one has ever been convicted in this case, one of the most famous American “cold cases”.
During his lifetime, rapper Tupac Shakur was a key figure in the West Coast–East Coast rivalry. He’s from the West Coast. He hires the Mob Piru gang from Los Angeles for his protection. From the East Coast, P. Diddy engages his rivals, led by Duane “Keefe D” Davis: the South Side Compton Crips.
Former gang leader Duane Davis is now accused of organizing and participating in the murder of Tupac Shakur. The rapper, known worldwide for his album All Eyez on Me and the tube California Loveembodies the figure of the bad boy.
On the evening of September 7, 1996, he attended Mike Tyson’s boxing fight in Las Vegas. Upon returning to the hotel, Tupac beats up Duane Davis’ nephew, Orlando Anderson, for taking the medallion of one of his label employees. As Tupac then takes the road to go to a nightclub, he is shot several times which sends him to the hospital. He died there a week later, at age 25.
Sufficient evidence
Orlando Anderson was initially suspected, before dying in another shooting in 1998. The investigation languished for a long time, due to lack of evidence. All passengers in the white Cadillac from which the bullets were fired died, except Duane Davis.
In 2019, the publication of his memoirs (Compton Street Legend) relaunches the investigation. The former gang leader said he was in the front of the car and passed the gun to the back seat.
His writings add to his previous statements. The Netflix miniseries Sean Combs: Time to take stock broadcasts the police interrogation where he assures that P. Diddy would have offered him a million dollars to assassinate Tupac.
His lawyers are fighting to prevent the book from being used as evidence, without success. The Nevada prosecutor has Duane Davis arrested in 2023, believing that the evidence is sufficient.
Duane Davis now recants his confession and pleads not guilty. “I am innocent. I have never killed anyone” he tells ABC News from his prison in 2025. “They have no evidence against me.” He claims he was in Los Angeles the night of the crime and would never have read his own memoirs. According to him, the co-author of the book fictionalized the facts to sell his book.
The shadow of perpetuity for the murder of Tupac
The trial opens this Monday, August 10 for a duration of one month. The jurors, selected this first week, may still not know who shot Tupac. The prosecution hopes to at least demonstrate that the accused provided the murder weapon. At 63, Duane Davis faces life imprisonment without reduction.
