On August 17, 2026, a prosecutor detailed to jurors that Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a former gang leader, was the mastermind behind the shooting that resulted in the death of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur in 1996 in the city of Las Vegas. The indictment alleges that the crime was retaliation for an attack on Davis’ nephew, reopening a case that remained unsolved for decades and marked the history of rap.

Davis faces a charge of murder with a deadly weapon and has pleaded not guilty in court. Authorities point to him as the person responsible for organizing a group of individuals with the aim of murdering Shakur, who was 25 years old at the time, in a shooting attack from inside a vehicle, near the famous Las Vegas Strip.

Prosecutor Binu Palal said jurors will be told how, given the opportunity for revenge, Duane Davis ensured the shooters were prepared to act. Palal added that this revelation will notably come from Davis himself, citing the defendant’s recent public statements that have brought the case back to light.

On the other hand, defense lawyer Michael Sandt argued that, even after three decades, investigators have little concrete evidence to support the murder charge against his client.

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Tupac Shakur case trial begins after three decades

The rapper’s death intensified the perception of violence inherent in hip-hop culture and the lyrics of the so-called “golden era” of gangsta rap, further intensifying the historical dispute between the East Coast and West Coast strands.

Police reported shortly after Davis’ arrest in 2023 that he had been considered a suspect in the murder for a long time. However, investigators were only able to gather enough admissible evidence to indict him after he blamed himself in several public statements.

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The case, led by Judge Carli Kierny, is expected to last up to six weeks in a downtown Las Vegas courtroom. Among the possible testimonies is Marion “Suge” Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records, who accompanied Shakur on the night of the murder and is currently serving a 28-year sentence for another manslaughter conviction. The jury for the case has already been selected.

Details about the accused’s role as principal

Authorities described Davis as the creator of a hastily prepared plan to retaliate for the attack that his nephew suffered on September 7, 1996, by Tupac Shakur and his companions, inside the MGM Grand casino, in Las Vegas.

The origin of the violence in the casino would be linked to an old rivalry between two street factions in Los Angeles: the South Side Compton Crips, a group that Davis led, and the Mob Piru, associated with Marion “Suge” Knight and Death Row Records, as indicated by the police. Both factions were in Las Vegas to watch a fight for the world boxing title, in the heavyweight category, between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon.

According to investigations, Davis was the one who obtained the weapon used in the crime and passed it on to two men who were in the back seat of a white Cadillac. The group then began searching for Knight and Shakur’s vehicle after the confrontation.

The shooting attack occurred as Davis and his accomplices approached the car containing Knight and Shakur. The rapper was shot four times and died in hospital six days later. Knight, who was driving the vehicle, suffered only a superficial wound to the head, caused by a bullet fragment.

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How the Cold Homicide Case Was Reopened

For years, the Tupac murder investigation remained stagnant. However, police reported that statements made by Davis to media outlets in 2018, in which he detailed his involvement in the shooting, were decisive in reactivating the case.

According to police, Davis revealed in interviews and in his 2019 memoir, titled “Compton Street Legend,” that he was in the front passenger seat of the Cadillac and that he handed the gun to one of the two individuals in the back seat of the vehicle.

However, neither Davis’ statements nor official investigations clarified who fired the shots that hit Shakur. The other three men who accompanied Davis in the Cadillac have since died.

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It is important to note that, according to Nevada legislation, Davis can be charged with murder even if he was not responsible for carrying out the shooting, his active participation in the planning and execution of the crime is sufficient for the accusation to be valid.

In his work, Davis mentioned that he was, for a long period, considered a suspect in both the murder of Shakur and the death of a competing rapper, Christopher Wallace, known as The Notorious B.I.G., of the New York recordBad Boy Entertainment, who was shot to death in Los Angeles in March 1997.

Although Wallace’s murder remains unofficially solved, investigators have speculated for years that his shooting death was in retaliation for Shakur’s murder, which had occurred a few months earlier.