Murder trial for the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur begins in Las Vegas

The murder trial of 63-year-old Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a former street gang leader, has commenced in a Las Vegas courtroom regarding the 1996 drive-by shooting death of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur. Davis, who has pleaded not guilty to a single count of murder with a deadly weapon, is accused by prosecutors of serving as the field commander who orchestrated the attack. The prosecution contends the shooting was an act of retaliation following the beating of Davis’s nephew earlier that same day, while the defense has dismissed these allegations as a work of fiction built on flawed investigative work.

On September 7, 1996, the 25-year-old Shakur was shot while traveling in a vehicle after attending a Mike Tyson boxing match near the Las Vegas Strip; he succumbed to his injuries six days later. The incident occurred during the height of the East Coast-West Coast rap feud and ongoing conflicts between the Bloods and Crips gangs. Although Davis was a long-term suspect, he was not arrested until 2023, following public statements in which he implicated himself in the planning of the crime. The trial, overseen by Judge Carli Kierny, is expected to last approximately six weeks and may include testimony from Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight.