The infamous murder case surrounding the iconic hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur has taken a new twist. Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a former Los Angeles-area gang leader, charged with the killing of Shakur in 1996, is now seeking release to house arrest ahead of his upcoming trial in June.
Davis, now 60 years old and reportedly in poor health, is being represented by court-appointed lawyers who argue that he poses no danger to the community and has no intention of fleeing to avoid trial. They are urging the judge to set his bail at a maximum of $100,000. Since his arrest on September 29, 2021, outside his suburban Henderson home, Davis has been held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas.
Prosecutors, however, have submitted a court filing raising concerns about potential witness harm if Davis were to be released. They point to jail telephone recordings and a list of names provided to Davis’ family members as evidence of witnesses at risk. Additionally, they highlight Davis’ own words over the years, including police interviews, his 2019 tell-all memoir, and media statements, which they claim strongly implicate him in orchestrating the drive-by shooting that took Shakur’s life and wounded rap music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight.
Marion “Suge” Knight, currently serving a 28-year sentence in a California prison for an unrelated shooting, was also injured in the 1996 incident. The shooting remains one of the most high-profile unsolved cases in the music industry.
In a recorded phone call from October, prosecutors allege that Davis’ son mentioned his father’s “green light” authorization to kill Shakur. While there is no reference to Davis instructing anyone to harm someone or any physical harm associated with the case, prosecutors claim that federal authorities have stepped in to protect at least one witness by providing resources for a change of residence.
Davis’ defense attorneys, including Robert Arroyo, argue that their client was granted immunity from prosecution in 2008 by FBI agents and the Los Angeles Police during their investigation into the killings of both Tupac Shakur and rival rapper Christopher Wallace, known as The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls. They contend that Davis’ descriptions of Shakur’s killing were merely for entertainment purposes and to generate income.
As the trial date approaches, the world watches with bated breath to see if justice will finally be served in the murder of Tupac Shakur. Will Davis be granted house arrest, or will he remain behind bars until the trial concludes? Only time will tell as the legal battle unfolds in the heart of Las Vegas, Nevada.
