Topline: Nearly three decades after Tupac Shakur was gunned down off the Las Vegas Strip, the only man ever charged in the case is set to stand trial.
Published: August 17, 2026 4:04 pm ET
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Tupac Shakur, left, and Duane “Keffe D” Davis
LAS VEGAS, NV — Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was shot in a drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip, Duane “Keffe D” Davis is set to go on trial Monday in the only criminal case ever brought in the rapper’s killing.
According to reporting published by News4JAX via the Associated Press, prosecutors say the 63-year-old Davis orchestrated the 1996 shooting and provided the gun, charging him with one count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. Davis has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers have argued there’s no evidence showing he directed the shooting and that the state is leaning on witnesses who weren’t there.
Shakur was 25 when he was shot on Sept. 7, 1996, after attending the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight at the MGM Grand with Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight. Earlier that night, Shakur, Knight and their entourage got into a brawl with a group that included Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson. Later, as Shakur and Knight headed to a nightclub where Shakur was scheduled to perform, a white Cadillac pulled up beside their car at a red light and gunfire erupted. Shakur was hit multiple times and died six days later. Knight survived with minor injuries.
Authorities have said Davis was one of four men in the Cadillac and that the other three men have since died. Investigators never recovered the gun or the Cadillac, and the long-running case stayed unsolved for years. Prosecutors have described the shooting as retaliation tied to the earlier fight and as part of a broader feud involving rival record labels Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records, along with rival gang factions Mob Piru and South Side Compton Crips.
The trial is expected to last about a month. A jury of six men and 10 women has already been seated, with four alternates. Prosecutors are expected to call between 35 and 45 witnesses, and Knight, now serving a 28-year prison sentence in California in an unrelated killing case, is on the witness list even though he’s said he wants no part in the proceedings.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Man Accused in Tupac Shakur Killing Heads to Trial Nearly 30 Years After Las Vegas Shooting
Nearly three decades after Tupac Shakur was gunned down off the Las Vegas Strip, the only man ever charged in the case is set to stand trial.
By Silvia Torres
Published: August 17, 2026 4:04 pm ET
Tupac Shakur, left, and Duane “Keffe D” Davis
LAS VEGAS, NV — Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was shot in a drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip, Duane “Keffe D” Davis is set to go on trial Monday in the only criminal case ever brought in the rapper’s killing.
According to reporting published by News4JAX via the Associated Press, prosecutors say the 63-year-old Davis orchestrated the 1996 shooting and provided the gun, charging him with one count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. Davis has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers have argued there’s no evidence showing he directed the shooting and that the state is leaning on witnesses who weren’t there.
Shakur was 25 when he was shot on Sept. 7, 1996, after attending the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight at the MGM Grand with Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight. Earlier that night, Shakur, Knight and their entourage got into a brawl with a group that included Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson. Later, as Shakur and Knight headed to a nightclub where Shakur was scheduled to perform, a white Cadillac pulled up beside their car at a red light and gunfire erupted. Shakur was hit multiple times and died six days later. Knight survived with minor injuries.
Authorities have said Davis was one of four men in the Cadillac and that the other three men have since died. Investigators never recovered the gun or the Cadillac, and the long-running case stayed unsolved for years. Prosecutors have described the shooting as retaliation tied to the earlier fight and as part of a broader feud involving rival record labels Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records, along with rival gang factions Mob Piru and South Side Compton Crips.
The trial is expected to last about a month. A jury of six men and 10 women has already been seated, with four alternates. Prosecutors are expected to call between 35 and 45 witnesses, and Knight, now serving a 28-year prison sentence in California in an unrelated killing case, is on the witness list even though he’s said he wants no part in the proceedings.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Editor Picks
Latest Articles
Man Accused in Tupac Shakur Killing Heads to Trial Nearly 30 Years After Las Vegas Shooting
Nearly three decades after Tupac Shakur was gunned down off the Las Vegas Strip, the only man ever charged in the case is set to stand trial.
By Silvia Torres
Published: August 17, 2026 4:04 pm ET
Tupac Shakur, left, and Duane “Keffe D” Davis
LAS VEGAS, NV — Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was shot in a drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip, Duane “Keffe D” Davis is set to go on trial Monday in the only criminal case ever brought in the rapper’s killing.
According to reporting published by News4JAX via the Associated Press, prosecutors say the 63-year-old Davis orchestrated the 1996 shooting and provided the gun, charging him with one count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. Davis has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers have argued there’s no evidence showing he directed the shooting and that the state is leaning on witnesses who weren’t there.
Shakur was 25 when he was shot on Sept. 7, 1996, after attending the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight at the MGM Grand with Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight. Earlier that night, Shakur, Knight and their entourage got into a brawl with a group that included Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson. Later, as Shakur and Knight headed to a nightclub where Shakur was scheduled to perform, a white Cadillac pulled up beside their car at a red light and gunfire erupted. Shakur was hit multiple times and died six days later. Knight survived with minor injuries.
Authorities have said Davis was one of four men in the Cadillac and that the other three men have since died. Investigators never recovered the gun or the Cadillac, and the long-running case stayed unsolved for years. Prosecutors have described the shooting as retaliation tied to the earlier fight and as part of a broader feud involving rival record labels Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records, along with rival gang factions Mob Piru and South Side Compton Crips.
The trial is expected to last about a month. A jury of six men and 10 women has already been seated, with four alternates. Prosecutors are expected to call between 35 and 45 witnesses, and Knight, now serving a 28-year prison sentence in California in an unrelated killing case, is on the witness list even though he’s said he wants no part in the proceedings.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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