More than three decades after the death of legendary American rapper Tupac Shakur, former gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis is set to stand trial in Las Vegas over the 1996 murder.
Davis, 63, is accused of orchestrating the drive-by shooting that killed Shakur, popularly known as 2Pac, on September 7, 1996, after the rapper attended a Mike Tyson boxing match in Las Vegas.
Prosecutors allege that Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, supplied the firearm used in the attack and ordered the killing following a confrontation involving members of his gang and Shakur.
Shakur was riding in a vehicle with Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight when a white Cadillac reportedly pulled alongside them. Gunmen opened fire, seriously wounding the 25-year-old rapper. He died several days later from his injuries.
Davis has pleaded not guilty and has repeatedly denied killing Shakur. He has also claimed that he was in Los Angeles on the night of the shooting and that statements contained in his 2019 memoir were exaggerated by his co-author.
The case remained unsolved for decades before authorities revived the investigation. Davis was eventually arrested in September 2023.
The trial is expected to last about a month, beginning with jury selection. If convicted, Davis could face life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
The case has attracted worldwide attention because of Shakur's status as one of hip-hop's most influential artists and the long-running rivalry between the East Coast and West Coast rap scenes during the 1990s.
Shakur, who was raised partly in Harlem and Baltimore, rose to international fame after signing with Los Angeles-based Death Row Records. His major hits included “California Love” and “All Eyez on Me.”
The trial is also expected to revisit the rivalry between Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records, the New York-based label associated with Sean “Diddy” Combs and Christopher Wallace, popularly known as The Notorious B.I.G., who was himself murdered in 1997.
Meanwhile, Shakur's family continues to seek accountability. His stepbrother, Maurice Shakur, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in May, alleging that other individuals involved in the rapper's killing have never been held responsible.
The trial may finally provide new details about one of America's most famous unsolved celebrity murders, although it may not establish conclusively who fired the fatal shots.
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