The long-awaited murder trial in the killing of 2Pac is set to begin in just a matter of days, with Duane “Keffe D” Davis standing as the only defendant.
Nearly 30 years after the 1996 drive-by shooting that claimed 2Pac’s life, Keffe D is scheduled to go on trial Monday (August 10). The 63-year-old pleaded not guilty in 2023 to one count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further, or assist a criminal gang.
According to the Associated Press, prosecutors are not required to prove who fired the fatal shots. Instead, they intend to argue that Davis was the orchestrator who supplied the weapon used in the attack.
The outlet also reported that prosecutors likely would never have brought charges if Davis hadn’t spoken about the case in interviews and co-written his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend.
Grand jury transcripts reviewed by the AP allege the shooting was the result of a long-running feud between Marion “Suge” Knight’s Death Row Records, which prosecutors linked to the Mob Piru gang, and Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records, which they say was backed by the South Side Compton Crips.
Prosecutors claim the violence was sparked just hours before the shooting when 2Pac, born Tupac Shakur, and members of his entourage allegedly assaulted Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, inside the MGM Grand. They contend Davis later arranged the retaliatory attack.
Later that night, a Cadillac allegedly carrying Davis and three other men pulled up alongside the BMW driven by Suge Knight near the Las Vegas Strip, where multiple shots were fired. Shakur died from his injuries a week later on September 13, 1996, while Knight escaped with minor wounds. Davis is the only surviving person allegedly inside the Cadillac that night.
“I hope that the trial is fair, and we find out the truth,” 2Pac’s stepbrother, Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur, told the Associated Press. He also said he hopes allegations surrounding Diddy’s alleged involvement receive further examination.
Diddy has repeatedly denied any connection to 2Pac’s murder. He is currently serving a prison sentence of approximately four years on unrelated prostitution-related convictions.
