Duane Davis Tupac trial begins with jury selection in Las Vegas
Jury selection has begun in Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ murder trial, nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was fatally shot.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
3 min read
The Duane Davis Tupac trial has started with jury selection in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, nearly three decades after rapper Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting. Judge Carli Kierny is presiding over the case, ABC7 reported.
Davis, 63, known as “Keffe D,” has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder with a deadly weapon with intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. He was arrested in 2023 and has been jailed since late that year, according to CBS News.
What is Duane Davis accused of in Tupac Shakur’s killing?
Prosecutors do not allege Davis fired the gun. Their case is expected to argue that he arranged the attack and supplied the weapon used in the shooting, CBS News and ABC7 reported.
The person who fired the fatal shots may not be identified at trial. That leaves the jury to decide whether prosecutors can prove Davis played the alleged organizing role, rather than who was behind the trigger.
Davis’ lawyers say there is no evidence that he directed the shooting. They contend the state’s case leans on witnesses who were not at the scene, CBS News reported.
A 1996 shooting and a case revived years later
Shakur was riding in the passenger seat of a black BMW driven by Marion “Suge” Knight on Sept. 7, 1996, when a white Cadillac pulled alongside in Las Vegas and gunfire broke out. Shakur was shot several times and died six days later; Knight survived, according to CBS News.
Prosecutors allege the shooting was retaliation after Shakur and members of his entourage assaulted Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand hours earlier. That is an allegation prosecutors must prove in court.
The investigation gained fresh momentum after Davis gave public interviews and co-wrote a 2019 memoir about his time with the South Side Compton Crips, CBS News reported. Prosecutors are expected to use the book and interview material as evidence.
Defense lawyers tried unsuccessfully to keep the memoir and a recording of a 2008 police interview out of the trial. They argued the book was fictionalized and that the police interview was meant to be confidential, according to CBS News.
What happens next in the Las Vegas trial?
Jury selection is expected to take several days before opening statements and testimony begin. ABC7 reported that prosecutors expect to call 35 to 45 witnesses, while the defense is expected to call fewer than a handful, including an expert on false confessions and coercive interrogation techniques.
The trial is expected to run for about a month. Public seats in the courtroom are limited through a daily lottery, and the court has set aside an overflow room with a live video feed, ABC7 and CBS News reported.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.