New Suspect Arrested in 1996 Death of Rapper Tupac Shakur
Nearly 30 years after the murder of Tupac Shakur, a suspect has been arrested in relation to his death
According to the Associated Press, Las Vegas police arrested Duane “Keffe D” Davis early in the morning on Friday, Sept. 29. Officials who were not authorized to speak on the matter ahead of his expected indictment later the same day could not confirm the exact charges Davis has been levied with, but the man has reportedly been on investigators' radar for quite some time.
The publication reports that Davis has described himself as one of the last witnesses to the shooting who are still alive, and between previous interviews and his own memoir, Compton Street Legend, he has admitted to being in the Cadillac involved in the drive-by shooting death of the rapper when gunfire broke out.
Davis was allegedly in the vehicle with his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, who had been involved in an altercation at a casino with the rapper earlier that same day, and Terrence “Bubble Up” Brown and DeAndre “Freaky” Smith. Davis once implicated Anderson in the murder, who had previously denied any involvement. He died in a shooting in 1998.
Davis wrote in his 2019 tell-all book that he spoke about the shooting in a private meeting with federal investigators in 2010, where they allegedly "promised they would shred the indictment and stop the grand jury" over separate drug charges if he "helped them out," but on July 17, police raided Davis' wife's home looking for things “concerning the murder of Tupac Shakur.” Authorities reportedly walked away with a number of computers, a cell phone, a hard drive, a magazine featuring the rapper, .40-caliber bullets, "tubs" of photos, and a copy of his novel.
Shakur was just 25 years old when he was gunned down on the Vegas strip 27 years ago, on Sept. 7, 1996. He was sitting in a vehicle with Suge Knight at a red light when the white Cadillac pulled up next to them and opened fire. The rapper was shot several times and died a week later.
According to Greg Kading, a retired Los Angeles detective who spent years investigating the case, Davis' own admissions were the fuel prosecutors needed to move it forward.
“He put himself squarely in the middle of the conspiracy,” Kading told the publication. Davis reportedly acquired the gun and provided it to the shooter, and is actually the last living person who was present in the car as they "hunted down" Shakur. “All the other direct conspirators or participants are all dead. Keefe D is the last man standing among the individuals that conspired to kill Tupac.”
Because the murder was premeditated, Kading said that Davis may be facing a first-degree murder charge.
He's expected to be indicted later on Sept. 29.
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