The defense attorney for Duane "Keffe D" Davis, a man accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, told a jury this week that they should not believe his client's past public admissions regarding the crime. Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges despite previously stating in a 2019 book and various media interviews that he was present during the drive-by shooting and provided the weapon used by others in his vehicle.
The trial, which began earlier this week in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, comes 27 years after Shakur died from his injuries following a shooting near the Las Vegas Strip. Prosecutors allege that Davis organized the attack as an act of retaliation after his nephew was beaten by Shakur and others at the MGM Grand casino on September 7, 1996. While police had long suspected Davis, they stated that his public statements provided the evidence necessary for his arrest.
During his opening statement, defense attorney Michael Sanft challenged the validity of his client's own claims, using a presentation slide that labeled them "bullshit." Sanft urged jurors to look for physical evidence to support the stories Davis told in his memoir, "Compton Street Legend." Legal experts noted that this strategy is often used in cases where defendants are accused of making incriminating statements for publicity, though they also warned that calling a client a liar presents a risk if the defendant later testifies to a different version of events.
The case hinges on whether a jury believes Davis’s detailed 2019 written account of the event—in which he described handing a gun to the shooters—was a factual confession or a fabricated story designed to sell books. For the relatives of Shakur, who are attending the proceedings, the trial represents a pursuit of legal closure that has remained elusive for nearly three decades. The proceedings are expected to last up to six weeks, during which time the jury must evaluate the lack of physical evidence against the defendant's specific, self-incriminating public statements.
The decision will set a precedent for how much weight courts give to "clout-chasing" admissions in the absence of corroborating forensic data. If the jury finds Davis's book and interviews to be unreliable, it could influence future cases where media statements are the primary evidence. Following the presentation of evidence and potential testimony from Davis, the jury must reach a unanimous verdict to convict him of the murder charge.
In his book, Davis wrote that he was one of four men in a white Cadillac that pulled alongside the car carrying Shakur and producer Marion “Suge” Knight. Davis claimed he handed a gun to the two men in the back seat, one of whom fired the fatal shots. In court, Sanft argued that the burden remains on the prosecution to prove these events actually happened beyond a reasonable doubt, regardless of what Davis previously said. The trial continues at the Regional Justice Center.