Duane Davis appears in court during his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026.
Steve Marcus/POOL Reuters via AP
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LAS VEGAS — On Monday, a prosecutor highlighted that while many remain silent about the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur, Duane “Keffe D” Davis is notably vocal.
“To clarify, Duane Davis didn’t fire the gun. However, he orchestrated the shooting in response to his nephew’s assault,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal said to the jury as Davis’ trial began in Las Vegas. “Astonishingly, this will be confirmed by Davis himself.”
If found guilty of murder with a deadly weapon intended to support a criminal gang, Davis, 63, could face life imprisonment. He has pleaded not guilty, and his defense attorney dismissed the prosecution’s account as “fiction.”
Palal presented footage showing Shakur’s group attacking Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, outside a boxing event at the MGM Grand just hours before the September 7, 1996, shooting.
According to Palal, Davis spent the next two hours plotting revenge, which led to Shakur being fatally shot. Despite his death at 25, Shakur continues to be a cultural icon and is acclaimed as one of the most influential rappers ever.
What he told the FBI and investigators
In a 2008 interview with a federal task force probing the murder of Shakur’s rival, the Notorious B.I.G., Davis instead recounted the Shakur shooting. He admitted to supplying a gun to the men in a white Cadillac that fired at a black BMW with Shakur and Marion “Suge” Knight inside.
As the prosecution played audio of Davis detailing the shooting, Shakur’s family, including his stepbrother Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur, listened intently from the audience.
Palal informed the jury that Davis harbored deep-seated animosity toward Shakur that persisted for decades, compelling him to speak.
Davis told the FBI in 1998 and 1999 that he was in Las Vegas during the shooting. In 2009, he confessed his involvement in the murder to Las Vegas police, according to Palal.
“After 30 years, we now seek to finally hold Duane Davis accountable,” Palal stated.
Palal also presented Davis’ 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” which the prosecution plans to use, although the defense attempted to exclude it along with several interviews from the trial.
How Davis’ legal team is defending him
Davis, dressed in a blue suit and tie, sat quietly with his hands folded, occasionally nodding as his lawyer presented his defense. He frequently scanned the room during testimony to see who was present.
Duane Davis listens as Brent Becker, a retired Las Vegas Metro Police Department homicide detective, testifies by video feed during his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, in Las Vegas.
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“What the prosecution presents as fact is actually fiction,” defense attorney Michael Sanft stated. “There are no facts.”
He argued that Davis had not been previously charged because authorities recognized he was “full of crap.”
The defense highlighted missing documents in the initial investigation and lack of trust between police departments.
Sanft criticized a detective’s work as “biased,” “sloppy,” and “incomplete.”
Outside the courtroom, Sanft mentioned that the 30-year gap since the incident might favor Davis.
“Time makes it challenging for people to recall events accurately,” the attorney noted. “That’s not how memory works.”
When asked about his candid remarks about Davis, he responded, “We all have a family member who’s like that.”
Briefly a suspect in Notorious B.I.G.’s death
Fred Miller, a former detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, was involved in the investigation of the 1997 murder of the Notorious B.I.G., also known as Christopher Wallace. He testified remotely that Davis was briefly considered a suspect in that case.
Davis admitted to attending a party at Los Angeles’ Petersen Automotive Museum where Wallace and Sean “Diddy” Combs were present. Wallace was shot upon leaving the venue.
Sanft opposed the inclusion of this testimony. The judge, with the prosecution’s consent, informed jurors that police do not believe Davis was involved.
Most eyewitnesses are no longer alive
The drive-by shooting story has captivated the hip-hop community, partly because no one was charged until Davis was indicted in 2023.
An illustration is displayed during the Duane Davis murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026.
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The other three men in the Cadillac have all passed away over the years.
Retired Las Vegas police officer Garry Dale was the first of 35 to 45 witnesses the prosecution intends to call in this trial, expected to last about a month.
He testified that he and another officer had stopped Knight and Shakur’s car for lacking a license plate, warned them, and let them go.
About 10 minutes later, the officers responded to a shooting call and found EMTs extracting Shakur from the car. Dale noted that Knight had been grazed by bullets but insisted the officers focus on Shakur.
In the ambulance, Dale asked Shakur who shot him. Shakur reportedly replied with something like, “no, we’ll take care of it.”
Brent Becker, a former Las Vegas homicide detective, recounted that Knight arrived for a police interview with attorneys, which he found unusual since Knight was a victim. Knight was hesitant; his responses seemed rehearsed, and he claimed ignorance, Becker said.
“I believed he lied to us,” Becker stated in video testimony.
Becker explained that getting witnesses to cooperate was difficult. The investigation focused on Davis, Anderson, Deandrae “Freaky” Smith, and Terry “Bubble Up” Brown as the men in the Cadillac but lacked any living witnesses to identify them.
Witnesses describe the night Tupac was shot
Ingrid Stokes testified that she and her friends were leaving Las Vegas when they encountered Shakur and Knight, who knew someone in Stokes’ group.
Knight invited them to a nightclub, and they decided to meet him there.
The car Stokes was in was one lane over and a car length ahead of Knight’s vehicle when they heard gunshots.
Stokes said they drove away in fear and nearly collided with a white four-door vehicle.
When they returned to the scene, police made them sit on the sidewalk and treated them like suspects, Stokes said. She expressed fear about being seen publicly discussing the case, concerned about poor treatment from law enforcement and potential repercussions.
“Snitches get stitches,” she remarked.
