Former gang leader Duane Keith “Keefe D” Davis has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Tupac Shakur.
The murder took place 7th September 1996, a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas that resulted in the 25-year-old later dying in hospital on the 13th September that same year.
Mr Davis was charged in September 2023, at the age of 60. Police believe he planned the attack with his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson.
Prosecuter feel that Tupac’s killing came out of competition between East Coast members of a Bloods gang sect and West Coast groups of a Crips sect, including “Keefe D” – the only person still alive who was in the vehicle when the shots were fired.
It’s thought that the shooting occurred in order to assert dominance in a musical genre dubbed “gangsta rap”. The grand jury was told that it was related to an earlier fight at a Las Vegas Casino involving Shakur and Davis’ nephew Anderson.
A news conference was held shortly after the arrest of Duane Keith Davis where police showed hotel security footage from the 7th September ’96. Footage showed several men kicking and punching a man they identified as Orlando Anderson. Police say this is what ultimately led to the shooting of the late rapper “2Pac” as he was waiting in his car at a red light.
Authorities have still not confirmed who fired the gun.
It took them a while to arrest him!