Nearly three decades after Tupac Shakur was fatally shot in Las Vegas, the man accused of orchestrating the rapper’s k!lling is set to face trial
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, is expected to appear in court in Las Vegas on Monday, with proceedings likely to run for about a month.
Davis, now 63, has pleaded not guilty to the mu.rder charge. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The case dates back to September 7, 1996, when Shakur was riding through Las Vegas after attending a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand. The rapper was struck by gunfire in a drive-by attack and died six days later at the age of 25.
Prosecutors are expected to argue that Davis played a central role in the killing by allegedly ordering the attack and supplying the firearm used in the shooting. However, the trial may not establish which individual actually fired the fatal shots.
Shakur’s de.ath remains one of the most closely followed unsolved killings in American music history. The rapper, widely known as 2Pac, became one of hip-hop’s biggest stars through songs including “California Love” and “All Eyez on Me.”
His murder also came during one of the most intense periods in hip-hop, when tensions between the West Coast and East Coast scenes were at their peak.
At the centre of that rivalry were Death Row Records, founded by Marion “Suge” Knight, and Bad Boy Records, established by Sean “Diddy” Combs and home to Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, who was himself murdered in Los Angeles less than six months after Shakur’s death.
According to prosecutors, the feud also involved rival street gangs. Death Row was associated with the Mob Piru gang, which was linked to the Bloods, while Davis led the South Side Compton Crips, who were reportedly connected to Bad Boy as security.
The events that preceded Shakur’s shooting allegedly began at the MGM Grand, where Knight and Shakur confronted and assaulted Davis’s nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson.
Prosecutors say the confrontation was retaliation for an earlier alleged attack involving a Death Row employee, setting the stage for the events that later unfolded on the Las Vegas Strip.
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