Duane Keith ‘Keffe D’ Davis, a former leader of a Southern California street gang, is set to appear in court on June 3, 2024, in connection with the 1996 murder of the famous American rapper Tupac Shakur.
Davis, who is 60 years old, got arrested in September due to his alleged role in planning the notorious Las Vegas drive-by shooting that took Tupac Shakur’s life 27 years ago.
Keffe D is the only surviving person from the car that fired the fatal shot at Shakur, and he’s the sole individual charged in connection with the murder. The trial date has been scheduled after some delays and questions about his legal representation.
In a Las Vegas courtroom on November 2, Keffe D, who identifies himself as a ‘gang member,’ pleaded not guilty. During the hearing, he answered several questions, confirming that he had completed ‘a year in college,’ was not under the influence of drugs, medication, or alcohol, and understood the murder charge against him.
The prosecutors have stated that they won’t seek the death penalty for Keffe D’s alleged involvement in the crime.
Originally from Compton, California, Keffe D was arrested on September 29 near a suburban Henderson home where the Las Vegas police executed a search warrant on July 17. This arrest reignited interest in one of hip-hop music’s longstanding mysteries.
Keffe D remains in custody without bail and hasn’t testified before the grand jury that indicted him. Additionally, he declined to speak with The Associated Press while in jail.
The indictment against Keffe D alleges that he provided a firearm to an individual in the back seat of a Cadillac just before the car-to-car gunfire that fatally wounded Tupac Shakur and injured rap music mogul Marion ‘Suge’ Knight at an intersection near the Las Vegas Strip.
Marion ‘Suge’ Knight, now 58, is currently serving a 28-year sentence in a California prison for his involvement in the 2015 death of a Compton businessman. Knight has not responded to messages sent through his attorneys regarding Keffe D’s arrest.
As Keffe D’s trial date approaches, the world will closely watch to see how this decades-old case unfolds, possibly shedding new light on the tragic and unsolved murder of Tupac Shakur.