Charges Stand Against Tupac Skakur’s Accused Murder Suspect, Trial May Start in March

Posted on: January 22, 2025, 02:39h. 

Last updated on: January 22, 2025, 03:18h.

A man accused in the deadly Las Vegas shooting of famed rapper Tupac Shakur is likely to be put on trial in two months after a judge refused to drop a charge.

Duane "Keffe D" Davis
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, right, pictured above in a courtroom. At left, is his attorney Carl Arnold. (Image: KOMO)

The legal team representing Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 61, who at one point resided in Compton, Calif., and later moved to Nevada, attempted to get the first-degree murder count dismissed. A Clark County judge rejected the motion on Tuesday.

Immunity Agreement Disputed

Judge Carli Kierny repudiated the argument made by Davis’ attorney that there was some sort of immunity agreement that would keep Davis from being charged, according to Newsweek.

The agreement was approved by law enforcement authorities, Davis’ attorneys claim. Prosecutors said no such agreement was ever made with Davis or his lawyers.

One remaining option is for Davis’ attorney, Carl Arnold, to get the case dismissed is via an appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court. So far, lawyers haven’t filed the appeal.

The case is scheduled to go to trial on March 17. Davis already pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge.

One issue is that the murder took place in 1996. Davis wasn’t arrested until 2023. The gap in years violates Davis’s legal rights, according to Arnold.

Prosecutors claim Davis coordinated the shooting, but didn’t pull the trigger. It took place close to the Las Vegas Strip. Before the shooting, Shakur, who was 25 when he died, and Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, had gotten into a fight in the lobby of the MGM Grand resort casino, authorities said.

Davis then allegedly got a .40-caliber Glock handgun that he gave to Anderson.

Anderson was in the back seat of a Cadillac on the night of Sept. 7, 1996, when several shots were fired at Shakur who was in a nearby vehicle stopped at the intersection of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane. Davis also was in the car, police said.

Shakur was rushed to University Medical Center with four chest wounds. He never recovered, and a week after the shooting, Shakur was taken off life support and soon died.

In 1998, Anderson was killed in a Compton gang-related shooting. He claimed before his death that he didn’t shoot Shakur. Two other men who were in the Cadillac with Anderson on the night of Shakur’s shooting are also dead.

The driver of the car in which Shakur was a passenger was Marion “Suge” Knight of Death Row Records. Knight was injured in the shooting, but survived.

Davis was booked on the murder charge on Sept. 29, 2023, and placed in the Clark County Detention Center where he remains as of Wednesday. Bail was set at $750K. He’s next scheduled to appear in court on February 11.

Judge Lashes Out at Lawyer

During a July court appearance, Judge Kierney, a former public defender, scolded Arnold, a former federal prosecutor.

It seems like your plan, your end goal here, is to make some kind of show for the press of this trial,” she said.

Arnold denied her claim.

“My end goal is to win the trial. If they want to follow me with cameras, they can do that,” Arnold responded to the judge.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson once called the prosecution’s evidence in the case against Davis, “strong.”

Davis, a former Crips gang member, wrote a book about the shooting and other events in his life.