Newly convicted Duane “Keffe D” Davis is continuing to insist he is innocent after receiving a verdict that could leave him behind bars for the rest of his life.
Four days after a Las Vegas jury convicted him in the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur, Davis spoke to The Hollywood Reporter from inside the Clark County Detention Center. “I’m innocent, man. They got an innocent man sitting in jail,” he said.
The jury reached its verdict on Sept. 1 after deliberating for less than three hours, bringing an end to a weeks-long trial. Over nine days, 24 prosecution witnesses and 3 defense witnesses took the stand. Davis, 63, was found guilty of murder with a deadly weapon with intent to promote, further, or assist a criminal gang.
Speaking with THR, Davis criticized the witnesses who testified against him. “Man, they lied about me so much. I don’t even know where to begin. All those cops in there was lying like a motherfucker. The prosecutors were lying about me. I’m a good man, man. I’m a good person. I’m not no fucking killer,” he said.
He also challenged the prosecution’s timeline, claiming he was nowhere near Las Vegas on the night of the shooting.
“After the [Mike Tyson] fight, I went to a bar by UCLA with my roommate. Then I went home the next morning, ate breakfast with my kids and my daughters and my son. And, shit, the next day, my Colombian plug called me and told me to come meet him,” Davis claimed.
“So I got in the truck with him, and he showed me the newspaper and [it] said ‘Keffe D’s nephew.’ That was what Reggie Wright had told [them]. That Keffe D’s nephew was behind it. That’s me, you know? Why the fuck would you use my name? I got five brothers. He could have said Kevin’s nephew, or Craig’s nephew, but he was wilding. But he used my name. They wanted to chop the head off the snake,” Davis added.
Prosecutors offered a different account at trial, arguing Davis was not responsible for pulling the trigger but for supplying the weapon and ordering the attack. Chief Deputy DA Binu Palal argued that Davis obtained a gun and “went hunting” for Shakur and Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight. During the trial, per CBS News, Palal told jurors: “When you have the shot caller sitting shotgun when shots are fired, there’s no doubt he’s responsible.”
Asked whether he had anything to say to Shakur’s family, Davis declined. “No, I ain’t got nothing to say to them. I didn’t like the way they was looking at me – like they was ready to beat me up.” He also alleged that Shakur’s family was allowed into a back room where the jury was held.
Diddy also came up during the interview, with Davis confirming that he had asked the music mogul to cover his attorney fees. “I couldn’t get a hold of him,” he said. “I tried to get Dr. Dre to pay too, but I couldn’t reach him. He never would’ve met Suge if not for me.” Davis also claimed Suge knows the “truth” and could confirm he was not in the car. He has not given up hope of receiving support from Diddy, pleading, “Help me out in here. Look out for my family. Look out for my kids and my family.”
Davis faces a minimum of 40 years in prison. Sentencing is set for Oct. 13 before District Judge Carly Kierny.
