Current:Home > InvestMan tied to suspected gunman in killing of Tupac Shakur is indicted on murder charge-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Man tied to suspected gunman in killing of Tupac Shakur is indicted on murder charge
View Date:2024-12-23 19:12:08
LAS VEGAS — One of the last living witnesses to the fatal drive-by shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas was charged with murder with use of a deadly weapon Friday in the 1996 killing, a long-awaited breakthrough in a case that has frustrated investigators and fascinated the public ever since the hip-hop icon was gunned down 27 years ago.
A Nevada grand jury indicted Duane "Keffe D" Davis in the killing, prosecutors announced in court Friday. Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo said a grand jury had been seated in the case for "several months." DiGiacomo described Davis as the "on-ground, on-site commander" who "ordered the death" of Shakur.
The charges were revealed hours after Davis, 60, was arrested this morning while on a walk near his home, according to DiGiacomo.
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 the gunfire erupted during the September 1996 drive-by shooting. Shakur was 25 when he was killed.
Las Vegas police raided a home in mid-July in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson that is tied to Davis. Police were looking for items "concerning the murder of Tupac Shakur," according to the search warrant. They collected multiple computers, a cellphone and hard drive, a Vibe magazine that featured Shakur, several .40-caliber bullets, two "tubs containing photographs" and a copy of Davis' memoir.
Clark County District Judge Jerry Wiese denied Davis bail.
It wasn't immediately clear if Davis has an attorney who can comment on his behalf. Davis hasn't responded to multiple phone and text messages from The Associated Press seeking comment or an interview in the more than two months since the house raid.
Shakur was in a BMW driven by Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight in a convoy of about 10 cars. They were waiting at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them and gunfire erupted. Shakur was shot multiple times and died a week later at the age of 25.
The rapper's death came as his fourth solo album, "All Eyez on Me," remained on the charts, with some 5 million copies sold. Nominated six times for a Grammy Award, Shakur is still largely considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time.
In his memoir, 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.
Davis implicated his nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, saying he was one of two people in the backseat. Anderson, a known rival of Shakur, had been involved in a casino brawl with the rapper shortly before the shooting.
After the casino brawl, "Mr. Davis formulated a plan to exact revenge upon Mr. Knight and Mr. Shakur" in his nephew's defense, DiGiacomo said.
Anderson died two years later. He denied any involved in Shakur's death.
Davis revealed in his memoir that he first broke his silence in 2010 during a closed-door meeting with federal and local authorities. At the time, he was 46 and facing life in prison on drug charges when he agreed to speak with them about Tupac's killing, as well as the fatal shooting six months later of Tupac's rap rival, Biggie Smalls, also known as the Notorious B.I.G.,
"They offered to let me go for running a 'criminal enterprise' and numerous alleged murders for the truth about the Tupac and Biggie murders," he wrote. "They promised they would shred the indictment and stop the grand jury if I helped them out."
Shakur was feuding at the time with rap rival Biggie Smalls, who was fatally shot in March 1997. At the time, both rappers were in the middle of an East Coast-West Coast rivalry that primarily defined the hip-hop scene during the mid-1990s.
Greg Kading, a retired Los Angeles police detective who spent years investigating the Shakur killing and wrote a book about it, said he's not surprised by Davis' arrest.
The former Los Angeles police detective said he believed the investigation gained new momentum in recent years following Davis' public descriptions of his role in the killing, including his 2019 memoir.
"It's those events that have given Las Vegas the ammunition and the leverage to move forward," Kading said. "Prior to Keffe D's public declarations, the cases were unprosecutable as they stood."
veryGood! (529)
Related
- John Krasinski is People's Sexiest Man Alive. What that says about us.
- 'A sense of relief:' Victims' families get justice as police identify VA. man in 80s slayings
- 61-year-old man has been found -- three weeks after his St. Louis nursing home suddenly closed
- Yemen’s Houthi rebels launch drone and missile attack on Red Sea shipping, though no damage reported
- Bill on school bathroom use by transgender students clears Ohio Legislature, heads to governor
- CBS announces exclusive weeklong residency in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII
- Gabriel Attal appointed France's youngest ever, first openly gay prime minister by President Macron
- For 2024, some simple lifestyle changes can improve your little piece of the planet
- 4 charged in Detroit street shooting that left 2 dead, 5 wounded
- Virginia police pull driver out of burning car after chase, bodycam footage shows
Ranking
- Infowars auction could determine whether Alex Jones is kicked off its platforms
- Coach Erik Spoelstra reaches record-setting extension with Miami Heat, per report
- Florida mom of 10 year old who shot, killed neighbor to stand trial for manslaughter
- City council committee recommends replacing Memphis police chief, 1 year after Tyre Nichols death
- LSU leads college football Week 11 Misery Index after College Football Playoff hopes go bust
- UN to vote on a resolution demanding a halt to attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by Yemen’s rebels
- Republicans are taking the first step toward holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress
- In $25M settlement, North Carolina city `deeply remorseful’ for man’s wrongful conviction, prison
Recommendation
-
Darren Criss on why playing a robot in 'Maybe Happy Ending' makes him want to cry
-
Preserving our humanity in the age of robots
-
AI-powered misinformation is the world’s biggest short-term threat, Davos report says
-
All the movies you'll want to see in 2024, from 'Mean Girls' to a new 'Beverly Hills Cop'
-
South Carolina does not set a date for the next execution after requests for a holiday pause
-
When and where stargazers can see the full moon, meteor showers and eclipses in 2024
-
Small-town Minnesota hotel shooting kills clerk and 2 possible guests, including suspect, police say
-
With threats, pressure and financial lures, China seen as aiming to influence Taiwan’s elections