AP LAS VEGAS, By Rio Yamat & Ken Ritter — A man who prosecutors say ordered the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur was arrested and charged with murder Friday in a long-awaited breakthrough in one of hip-hop’s most enduring mysteries.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis has long been known to investigators as one of four suspects identified early in the investigation. He isn’t the accused gunman but was described as the group’s ringleader by authorities Friday at a news conference and in court.
“Duane Davis was the shot caller for this group of individuals that committed this crime,” said police homicide Lt. Jason Johansson, “and he orchestrated the plan that was carried out.”
Davis himself has admitted in interviews and in his 2019 tell-all memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” that he provided the gun used in the drive-by shooting.
Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill speaks beside a photo of Duane “Keefe D” Davis during a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur AP Photo/John Locher
Authorities said Friday that Davis’ own public comments revived the investigation.
Davis, now 60, was arrested early Friday while on a walk near his home on the outskirts of Las Vegas, hours before prosecutors announced in court that a Nevada grand jury had indicted the self-described “gangster” on one count of murder with a deadly weapon. He is due in court next week.
The grand jury also voted to add a sentencing enhancement to the murder charge for gang activity that could add up to 20 additional years if he’s convicted.
A Las Vegas-area home searched by police investigating the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996 is tied to Duane “Keffe D” Davis.
Authorities in Nevada say they have served a search warrant in connection with the long-unsolved killing of rapper Tupac Shakur in September 1996.
The unsolved killing of rapper Tupac Shakur has taken a new twist. Authorities in Nevada confirmed Tuesday that they served a search warrant this week in connection with the rap star’s shooting death.
FILE – Rapper Tupac Shakur attends a voter registration event in South Central Los Angeles, Aug 15, 1996. Las Vegas police said they have made an arrest, Friday, Sept 29, 2023, for the first time in the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur AP Photo/Frank Wiese
The first-ever arrest in the case came after Las Vegas police raided Davis’ home in mid-July in the nearby city of Henderson for items they described at the time as “concerning the murder of Tupac Shakur.”
It wasn’t immediately clear if Davis has an attorney who can comment on his behalf. Prosecutors said they did not know if he had a lawyer and several local attorneys said they did not know who from Las Vegas would represent him. Phone and text messages to Davis and his wife on Friday and in the months since the July 17 search weren’t returned.
“For 27 years, the family of Tupac Shakur has been waiting for justice,” Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference Friday. “While I know there’s been many people who did not believe that the murder of Tupac Shakur was important to this police department, I’m here to tell you that is simply not the case.”
Prosecutors said they have been in contact with the rapper’s family, who are “pleased with this news.”
FILE – Rapper Tupac Shakur, left, and Death Row Records Chairman Marion Suge Knight, attend a voter registration event in South Central Los Angeles, on Aug 15, 1996. Shakur died on Sept 13, 1996, the victim of a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Police have made an arrest for the killing of Shakur (AP Photo/Frank Wiese
On the night of Sept 7, 1996, Shakur was in a BMW driven by Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight. They were waiting at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them and gunfire erupted.
Shakur was shot multiple times and died a week later at the age of 25.
Davis, in his memoir, said he was in the front passenger seat of the Cadillac and had slipped a gun into the back seat, from where he said the shots were fired.
He implicated his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, saying he was one of two people in the backseat. Anderson, a known rival of Shakur, had been involved in a casino brawl with the rapper shortly before the shooting.
“Little did anyone know that this incident right here would ultimately lead to the retaliatory shooting and death of Tupac Shakur,” said Johansson, the police lieutenant.
Anderson died two years later. He denied any involvement in Shakur’s death.
Emails seeking comment from two lawyers who have previously represented Knight were not immediately returned. Knight was grazed by a bullet fragment in the shooting but had only minor injuries. He is serving a 28-year prison sentence in California for an unrelated voluntary manslaughter charge.
On the night of July 17, Las Vegas police quietly surrounded the home where Davis lives with his wife, Paula Clemons. Police lapel video obtained by AP showed SWAT officers detaining a man and his wife outside the home lit up by a swirl of red and blue lights after announcing their presence on a bullhorn. The couple’s faces are blurred in the videos.
Police reported collecting multiple computers, a cellphone and hard drive, a Vibe magazine that featured Shakur, several .40-caliber bullets, two “tubs containing photographs” and a copy of Davis’ memoir.
Greg Kading, a retired Los Angeles police detective who spent years investigating the Shakur killing and wrote a book about it, said he’s not surprised by Davis’ arrest.
“All the other direct conspirators or participants are all dead,” Kading said. “Keffe D is the last man standing among the individuals that conspired to kill Tupac.”
The rapper’s death came as his fourth solo album, “All Eyez on Me,” remained on the charts, with some 5 million copies sold. Nominated six times for a Grammy Award, Shakur is still largely considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time.
Rio covers Nevada and the US Southwest. She is based in Las Vegas.
TOP FEATURE PHOTO From left, Las Vegas police Lt. Jason Johansson, Sheriff Kevin McMahill and Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson attends a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, Friday, Sept 29, 2023, in Las Vegas AP Photo/John Locher
