Duane Keith Davis, known as “Keffe D,” is the only person charged in the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur.
Prosecutors accuse Davis, a former gang leader, of helping orchestrate the drive-by shooting that killed Tupac. He was arrested in September 2023 and has pleaded not guilty to murder with a deadly weapon.
His trial began Monday in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas with jury selection.
Who is Duane Keith Davis?
Here are five things to know about Davis as the trial gets underway:
1. He was a longtime South Side Compton Crips gang leader.
Davis has described his rise through the gang while running a large drug operation in California. He has a history of criminal activity and has spent time in prison.
He is also the last living person prosecutors say was inside the white Cadillac involved in the shooting.
2. Prosecutors say he helped plan the attack on Tupac.
On September 7, 1996, Tupac was riding in a car driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight after a Mike Tyson fight in Las Vegas.
A white Cadillac pulled alongside their car and gunfire erupted. Tupac Shakur was shot four times. He died six days later at age 25.
{{/usCountry}}A white Cadillac pulled alongside their car and gunfire erupted. Tupac Shakur was shot four times. He died six days later at age 25.
{{/usCountry}}Prosecutors say the shooting was retaliation for a fight earlier that night at a casino, when Tupac and others allegedly attacked Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson.
Davis is charged with murder with a deadly weapon, along with a gang enhancement. He has pleaded not guilty and faces life in prison without parole if convicted.
Prosecutors do not allege that Davis pulled the trigger. They say he helped organize the shooting and provided the gun.
3. Davis has previously said he was there when Tupac was shot.
In his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, and in interviews, including a 2008 police interview, Davis placed himself at the scene.
He described getting a gun and putting it in the back seat of the Cadillac. He also said he was in the car when the shooting happened and implicated his late nephew as one of the shooters.
Those statements helped investigators reopen the decades-old case.
Both the memoir and the 2008 police interview have been ruled admissible at trial.
Davis and his defense team now argue that his earlier accounts were not truthful. They say he made the claims for money, publicity and book sales, or under promises of confidentiality or immunity.
4. The case remained unsolved for decades.
Tupac’s killing went unsolved for years, until Davis’ public statements brought renewed attention to the case.
He was arrested in September 2023 near his home in Henderson, Nevada, after a grand jury indicted him.
Davis has remained in custody while his lawyers have sought bail. The trial has also been delayed several times as the defense prepared its case.
5. The trial could last several weeks.
Jury selection is taking place before Judge Carli Kierny and is expected to take several days.
The full trial could last four to six weeks. Seating inside the courtroom is limited, with some spectators selected through a lottery. An overflow room will also show a live feed of the proceedings.
Suge Knight, who is serving a prison sentence for an unrelated manslaughter conviction, could potentially be called as a witness, although he has indicated that he does not want to testify.
The trial may not definitively establish who fired the fatal shots. The other men who were in the Cadillac have since died.