A long-running investigation into the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur has reached a major milestone, as former gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis goes on trial in Las Vegas.
Davis, 63, is accused of orchestrating the drive-by shooting that killed Shakur on September 7, 1996, after a Mike Tyson boxing match. Prosecutors allege he supplied the gun and ordered the attack, though they may not be able to prove who fired the fatal shots.
Shakur, one of hip-hop’s most influential figures, died at age 25. His murder became one of the most high-profile unsolved cases in U.S. music history.
The case gained new momentum after Davis’s 2019 memoir, in which he placed himself in the car involved in the shooting and described handing a weapon to others inside. Authorities say these statements, along with earlier interviews, helped revive the investigation, leading to his arrest in 2023.
Davis has pleaded not guilty, denying involvement and claiming he was not in Las Vegas that night. He also says his memoir exaggerated events for commercial purposes.
Prosecutors argue the killing was an act of retaliation linked to tensions between rival hip-hop labels, Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records, and their associated gangs. Hours before the shooting, Shakur and associates reportedly assaulted Orlando Anderson, Davis’s nephew, at a Las Vegas casino.
Jury selection is expected to last about a week, with the trial projected to run for several weeks. If convicted, Davis faces life in prison without parole.
Despite the trial, questions remain about who carried out the shooting, as other individuals believed to be in the car have since died. Shakur’s family continues to seek broader accountability, with a civil lawsuit filed earlier this year alleging others were involved in the killing.
