Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur's assassination, one of the most famous criminal cases in American music history is back in court. The trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis, the only man ever charged in the rapper's murder, begins this Monday, August 10, 2026, in Las Vegas with jury selection. The 63-year-old defendant has pleaded not guilty. Tupac Shakur was fatally shot on the night of September 7, 1996, while riding in a BMW driven by Marion "Suge" Knight. The 25-year-old rapper succumbed to his injuries six days later, on September 13. For nearly three decades, no one was brought to justice for his death.
Duane "Keffe D" Davis, the only man charged in the case
Duane Davis is being prosecuted for murder with a deadly weapon in an action allegedly intended to promote or aid a gang. Prosecutors are not necessarily accusing him of having personally shot Tupac Shakur. They maintain that he played a central role in organizing the attack and that he was in the white Cadillac from which the shots were fired. Davis was arrested in September 2023, following a dramatic reopening of an investigation long considered a cold case. He has been in custody ever since and has consistently denied the murder charge. The trial was initially scheduled to begin much sooner. Several postponements ultimately led the Nevada justice system to set the start date for August 10, 2026, in part to allow the defense more time to review the particularly voluminous case file.
A fight broke out a few hours before the murder.
At the heart of the prosecution's case is an altercation that occurred a few hours before the shooting. On September 7, 1996, Tupac Shakur attended the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. After the fight, a brawl broke out in the hotel. Tupac and several members of his entourage attacked Orlando Anderson, Duane Davis's nephew and a member of the South Side Compton Crips. Part of the confrontation was captured on surveillance cameras. The prosecution argues that this attack was the trigger for what happened a few hours later. Tupac then left the hotel with Suge Knight. Around 23:15 p.m., their BMW was stopped at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip when a white Cadillac pulled up alongside. Several shots were fired. Tupac was hit multiple times. Suge Knight was also wounded.
The statements of "Keffe D" at the heart of the trial
One of the distinctive features of this case lies in the numerous statements made over the years by Duane Davis himself. Davis has publicly discussed the night of the murder on several occasions. In interviews and in his memoir, *Compton Street Legend *, published in 2019, he recounted being in the Cadillac. These statements are now expected to play a significant role for the jury. Judge Carli Kierny authorized the prosecution to use Davis's book during the trial. The defense had attempted to prevent its use. They had also requested the exclusion of an interview Davis gave to investigators in 2008, arguing that it was conducted under an agreement guaranteeing his statements would not be used against him. In late July, however, the judge ruled that this interview could be presented to the jury.
A 2008 interview that the defense wanted to have dismissed
The issue of this interrogation is particularly sensitive. Davis had agreed to speak to investigators several years after the murder under circumstances his lawyers consider protective of their client. The defense argues that the commitments made at the time should have prevented the use of some of his statements in court. The court did not accept this argument for the recording in question. Prosecutors will therefore be able to confront the defendant with his own accounts, given at different times and in different settings. His lawyers maintain, however, that these statements do not prove he orchestrated the murder. His lawyer, Michael Sanft, asserts his belief in his innocence and has agreed to defend him pro bono.
Orlando Anderson, long suspected but never charged
Orlando Anderson, Davis's nephew involved in the MGM Grand brawl, quickly attracted the attention of investigators after Tupac's death. He denied any involvement and was never charged with the murder. Anderson died in 1998, at the age of 23, in a shooting unrelated to the Tupac case. The other men investigators linked to the Cadillac are also deceased. Duane Davis is thus the last surviving man presented as having been in the car at the time of the attack.
A cold case reopened by a search in 2023
After years without charges being filed, the investigation took a decisive turn in the summer of 2023. Las Vegas police raided a house in Henderson, Nevada, linked to Davis's wife. A few weeks later, a grand jury indicted Duane Davis, and his arrest was announced on September 29, 2023. The case then took on a completely different dimension: 27 years after the events, the murder of Tupac Shakur finally had, for the first time, a defendant summoned to appear in court.
The trial begins with the selection of the jury.
This Monday marks the start of jury proceedings, with the selection of those who will examine one of the most high-profile criminal cases of recent decades. The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt Duane Davis's criminal responsibility in the murder, even if it does not necessarily claim he was the shooter. The defense, on the other hand, will attempt to challenge the strength of the evidence gathered nearly 30 years after the events and the significance of the statements Davis made over the years.
If convicted, Duane "Keffe D" Davis faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. For the first time since the death of Tupac Shakur on September 13, 1996, a jury will be called upon to determine a defendant's responsibility in his murder.
