Law&Crime Sidebar - Tupac Murder: Will Keffe D’s Own Words Convict Him?

Episode Date: August 14, 2026

Nearly three decades after music icon Tupac Shakur was gunned down on the Las Vegas Strip, former gang leader Duane "Keffe D" Davis is set to stand trial in Nevada for orchestrating the infamous 1996 murder. Though prosecutors do not allege Davis pulled the trigger, they argue his own self-proclaimed role and public confessions prove he acted as the "shot caller" who supplied the weapon. Law&Crime's Jesse Weber as he breaks down everything you need to know about the case, the defense's strategy, and what to expect as his trial gets underway.HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson, Heather Berzak & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrimeTwitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For 27 years, the family of Tupac Shakur has been waiting for justice. Lucky's one, I guess. Hit that corner, gave a little chase, boom, boom. Mr. Davis, you have the right to have the jury sentenced to it if they come back on a first-degree murder verdict. And you have decided to waive that right. Is that correct? Yes, not. Okay. After all this time, will someone finally face justice for the killing of music icon Tupac Choucacour?

Right now, attorneys are gearing up to go ahead. head to head in a Las Vegas courtroom where a former alleged gang member soon heads to trial for allegedly orchestrating this infamous crime. We are looking at everything you need to know about Tupac, his shocking death, and the man possibly at the center of it all, D. Davis. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. We have been following this case for a while now. Dwayne Keefe D. Davis, the former alleged gang leader, charged with orchestrating the murder of Tupac Shakur, nearly 30 years, 30 years after the hip-hop legend was gunned down out in Las Vegas on the Las Vegas strip,

jury selection is wrapping up. It is a remarkable thing to be saying. And just when you thought that this case couldn't get any stranger, it has, the trial is finally here. But before we even get into the court, we got to understand who Keefe D is, how his own words may end up sealing his fate. So I want to rewind to 2023, when the biggest break in this case ever was announced. Good afternoon. My name is Kevin McMayhill. I'm the sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Thank you for joining us this afternoon. 27 years. 27 years. For 27 years, the family.

of Tupac Shakur has been waiting for justice. We are here today to announce the arrest of 60-year-old Duane Keith Davis, aka Keefei D, for the murder of Tupac Shakur. Davis was arrested this morning by my LVMPD criminal apprehension team, and this investigation started on the night of September 7th, 1996. It is far from over. It has taken countless hours, really decades of work by the men and women of our homicide section, to get to where we are today.

This was shocking. Is somebody who remembers when Tupac was gunned down? Yeah, I was little, but I remember. It was a big event. All these years later, an announcement the world had been waiting for. Three decades in the making, a shakeup that hit the hip-hop world on September 7, 1996. and the man allegedly behind the murder of Tupac Shakur, well, I'll tell you what, you're about to meet him.

They got a medical error. They do. Yeah, they got, so what they got you for, man? Biggest case in Las Vegas history. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Like recent? September 7, 1996.

Oh, no. Wow. That's a long time away. You know what I'm talking about, yeah? You know what I'm talking about? Yeah, not a detector quite yet, but yeah. Shit, that's a long time away, man. What was that?

20-something years? No, more than that. Yeah. Sure took them a while, huh? Yeah. I ain't worried about it. I ain't keep in. Hey, Keith, Metro Police.

Come over here. Hey, Metro Police, come over here, all right? Thanks, buddy. Come over here. Appreciate your cooperation, okay? I'm gonna stand right here and turn the car. Yep. You'll go and put it down.

I know, hang on, put that down for a second, all right? You got nothing on you, right? Hooks. You have anything on you, sir? No. Dirty, okay, okay, yeah. We'll get your drink, hang on, all right? Just want to make sure you got no weapons on you or anything, okay?

That's that place to do, sir. Thank you. Do you have anything on you, sir? No, I do. Oh, yeah, that was a phone and water. Perfect, all right. We're going to put you in the bar. I need to drink some water, man, I'm thirsty.

We'll let you get a drink on now. going for a walk or what? Yeah. Okay. You do like a morning walk every day? Okay. We'll get you some water, my minute. Get you to the car?

Yeah, as soon as we get you in the car, we'll get you in the car, all right? Appreciate it, sir. Just walk over here, sir. Okay. You don't worry. Your water's going to come. Yep, that's him. You're going to see a lot of this guy for the next few weeks of this trial.

That is Keefey D in the back of a patrol car, minutes after his arrest. calm, seemingly unbothered, seemingly confident, told the officer he wasn't worried about anything, but who really is, Kee-Feedee D? To understand the case, you got to understand the man. And yes, to be clear, as we go through this and we go through the allegations and in the evidence, as we do each and every day of this trial, he is innocent unless proven guilty. But there's a lot to consider here. And I say that because he's been the one telling us who he is for years. It's just our neighborhood, I mean, you know, it's just a family thing, grew up, and there's just our culture, as you're coming up. Yeah. So, so.

Big brothers in and all that shit. I never go through a like that. So no initiation? She was just kind of like born into it. Yeah, exactly. Okay. I was there when they farmed, the day it started. So I didn't have to do that. Yeah. Okay. Jump in. Oh, we just about, maybe about 10 years old, 10, 11 years. years old. I played football at Grady Compton, and his dad, uncles, was our coaches. He was overweight, so he got to play had to play with us, you know, because I'm like a year or two older than him, so he had to play with those guys that was a little older than him. Yeah, so Keefe D. Shug Knight, they went way back. They were apparently football teammates as kids, but in 1996, that relationship would have its biggest shakeup yet. On the night of the

September 7th in 1996, Tupac Shakur, along with Shug Night, and members of their entourage, which include members of Maupyrieu, came to Vegas to attend the Mike Tyson fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Members of the Southside Compton Crips, which included Duane Davis, along with his nephew Orlando Anderson, were also in attendance at the same event. As both were leaving the fight, members of death row records spotted Orlando Anderson near an elevator bay bank inside the MGM, and at that time they began to kick and punch him near that elevator bank. I will now show you hotel security footage, as many of you've already seen, related to this incident. And on this incident, you will see Tupac Shakur, who's wearing a shiny satiny shirt,

along with Marion Shug Knight, who is a large man in a brown suit, punching and kicking Orlando Anderson. Following this incident, you'll see Hotel Shoeuvre. security intervene, and then they will leave the area of the fight. Little did anyone know that it is this incident right here that would ultimately lead to the retaliatory shooting and death of Tupac Shakur. And then that's when Dwayne Davis began to devise a plan to obtain a firearm and retaliate against Shignite and Mr. Shikor for what occurred inside the hotel. against Mr. Anderson. After Davis obtained a gun, he entered into a white Cadillac, along with

Terrence Brown, DeAndre Smith, and Orlando Anderson. Based on our investigation, this is where we know they were seated. At some point in time, as they were in the white Cadillac, Mr. Davis took the gun that he had obtained and provided it to the passengers in the rear seat of the vehicle. As they were both, As they were driving west on Flaminga Road near Koval, they located the Black VMW, which was driven by Shugnight, and then the passenger sheet was Tupac Shakur. And as they turned around, they pulled up near the pasture side of that vehicle and immediately began shooting. Dwayne Davis was the shot caller for this group of individuals that committed this crime, and he orchestrated the plan that was carried out. So the police may have had a theory here, but it was Keefe D himself. who allegedly provided the evidence that they needed interviews,

his own book, his own words. I got into car with the home shed, and we ran into them. We went up to the light on sunset and Pomego, and a dude, we acted like he was in a parade or something. And that BMW hanging out the window, hey, this two-bock! He's two-buck! And then he was holling for him.

And we said, they go down. It came up on the side of him. Reached. Yeah, it looked like he was ready to bus. We got, we were the first one. Yeah. Lucky's one, I guess. Hit that corner, gave a little chase, boom, boom, boom.

You got the busing, we bused back. Jumped up out of that mobile cat, like, put the gun on the tire. Let me break this down a little bit, okay? In that interview with Urban City, he appears to admit, that he was there. But here's what the defense is expected to argue, that in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, which prosecutors are expected to build much of their case around or part of their case around, Keefe D apparently wrote that he was in the car, that he provided the gun, but his lawyers have argued that this book was fictionalized, that it was exaggerated, all in an

effort to make money, and that it's not clear which portions Davis actually wrote. Now, Davis himself recently told a Las Vegas station that a ghost writer wrote the book, that he never read it. But the judge has ruled that he adopted those statements as his own, regardless of who wrote every portion. Davis also allegedly said that he didn't pull the trigger. In fact, he has pointed the finger at his own nephew, Orlando Anderson. Remember that name? It's going to come up a lot during this trial. Orlando Anderson. And Orlando Anderson died in 1998. Now, does it matter? Here's what police say. Well, under Nevada law, and this is the law in most states in this country, you can be charged with a crime, whether you're directly involved or whether you're an aid

or an abettor. If you help somebody commit a crime, you can be equally as guilty. That is one of the theories in this case as well. So what happened after the shooting? Keefei D. seemingly explained it this way. He should, yeah, he's not only one, noobie. He told them people that. He told the police that Ki-Bee-D nephew. Oh, okay, because I thought he didn't tell, like, who it was. Yeah, hell, no, that dude. Day one, he said that, Ki-B-D. nephew. Huh.

He sick the police on us, the first day. Shug Knight, the only other apparent living witness to this shooting, allegedly told police Kee-D.'s named that same night. But Knight has made it clear he does not want to testify. He apparently told ABC News last week that getting on the witness, is, quote, worse than taking a gun and shooting that man in the head. He said his loyalty to Tupac can never be compromised and that he is not going to be responsible for sending another man to prison for the rest of his life.

Knight, by the way, is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence in California for an unrelated fatal hit-and-run case. 48 people would have went to jail. Yeah. All their kids would have been affected. They wives. People would have lost their homes. All that.

I really saved their life's home. Yeah. They gave me a deal I can't refuse. So according to prosecutors, this case lay dormant for nearly three decades. But then Davis reportedly began talking, interviews, the book, and it was those words, according to law enforcement, according to authorities, that gave them the evidence that they needed. Retired LAPD detective Greg Cating, who apparently interviewed Davis in 2008 and 2009, said that Davis, quote, put himself squarely in the middle of the conspiracy.

He said that Davis acquired the gun, gave the gun to the shooter, and was present in the vehicle when they hunted down and located both Tupac and Shug Knight. And while awaiting trial, Davis was released on a $750,000 bond. The money allegedly came from a music manager named Cash Jones, also known as Wack 100. How long have you had that business? Oh, roughly what, eight years, like it. And again, you used the proceeds. from that business and you provided us with the documents showing that those amounts were taken from your business account. Is that correct? Yes, sir. How do you know Mr. Davis, sir?

I know him too passing. I know his son, you know, we know, we sat down and talked a few times in general, you know, by personal things, I think he was having this bowel cancer. and you know personal things industry stuff you know it's regular conversation he's a he's a he's a he's always been a monumental eye on our community conversations so you know and I've helped several people in our community of whether it was funeral was for bail in any situation I know this cancer has been um I don't know if it's come out of the mission or with this people with his son. I know he's out of an issue with there. I'll let the other thing you say in the letter that you've been Mr. Arnold provided to us is that the money is a gift and Mr. Davis is not obligated to

do you think. Is that right? That's right. All right. Are there, do you have any contract between you and Mr. Davis? Not as a gift. Okay, do you have any financial agreement with Mr. Davis? Yeah, prosecutors grilled WAC 100 about this so-called gift.

And at this court hearing, Kee-D himself took the stand. Mr. Davis, you heard the conversation between your wife and you are your in custody. And when did that? conversation happened? This happened, I think I had my birthday, June 14. At that point was the bond postage. What was the reason that your wife came down to have that discussion with you in regards to Mr. Jones and that cash bond?

She said, I'm not signing a paper for a phone. And when she said that, she didn't like them, who was she referring to? Cass Jones. Because her family has, her family has a problem, I don't like her. She, like her, her pucks out, and she said, and I was just telling her to throw her the fuck off, get her off my feet, excuse me my, get her off my back, you know what I don't want to say, I don't want to look like no woods, her or her family, you know? Let me ask the question.

Did you think at that time in the bond process that your wife's signature was necessary for you to be released? Yes, sir. And so in the effort to convince her to go ahead and get her signature, what did you tell in regards to Mr. Jones? I said, he only had no money like that to put out is Jewish and people just so she designed a fucking bomb. And we don't believe that is. She sells in for the whole tape. Okay, did you come to find out that you did not need her signature to enter into the bond process? I found out just following when she came in.

And so any conversation that you had with your wife at that time was in an effort just to get her to comply with the bond. conspired with the bond process. That's right. I wanted to come along with my cancer. You know, I just called it back. In here, eating your all processed food. You know, I told me that's a right year. And it's not in the move to this side.

Why it's processed food meat? They don't settle with no fruit. It's terrible. Fake potatoes, fake milk, fake everything. It's a good for an ex-cancervation. I'm in a life situation in an awful. situation and I would say anything save my life. It's probably going to be a problem for the defense.

And look, from everything that you heard, how controversial this is with this, you know, money apparently being fraudulent and KVD's own statements. In the end, the bond was eventually denied. And KVD ended up back in jail. And then you have the jail calls. And if I had to take a guess, if this comes into evidence, that the prosecution would paint the picture that this man is allegedly violent. and calculating.

Man, they're not being, I can put you with the spray on my eyes. I got it. So, I don't know what you know, ma. Yeah. You all got it. I got it. He used to be, big pro, you're my big pro. Got it.

I always let him know you think. You cannot. You can not. I hate that you in this particular. And then, you know, I was a little bit. I can have the one on one picket key, so I can tell you. Man, I do it dirty. You know what I'm saying?

I get dirty, too. I want you to go up in there and start whooping some... He only hit me one time, though. That's why I was able to find us there. I was... I have the doors unlocked and all, and they didn't even pop my door. As soon as I made to come out, I walked up. I wanted to go up in there.

No, I don't know. I'm just so on. I'm just saying. I got a part of the little motherfiles that they could fight me. He's not worried about that, dude. Come on, really? The main thing is me being the case, man. Let me tell you what somebody told me about your attorney? What?

He is not, he's careless. He don't know how to file paperwork and nothing. That's what Bruce said that. Well, I don't even know how he got that for. Yeah, a pumpkin, he said, ooh, he's a person. He's a, ooh, he's a piece. He's mad about the jumper. What you call a car to him a dumpster truck?

Pumpkin too mad about the driver. He said he did get him too bad. He said that, yeah, he got 65 years, bro. He said he did Superman bad. That's the worst he ever seen in his life. Man, he got 65 years, bro. Yeah, that's what he said. Pumpkin's who is mad about that.

The whole place down there, man, isn't lying there. I think he didn't send them people off. Yeah. And here you go, we're so dumb finding off with it. So here's a question. What exactly is the defense here, right? Well, Keefei D's defense seems to be built around two things. Number one, he didn't pull the trigger.

Number two, he's been cooperating with police for years and that he believed his statements were protected. On top of the fact that later on, it seems to be suggesting, as we mentioned, that it was exaggerations for money. The prosecutors countered. The prosecutors argue that he opened the door when he started talking, publicly. So those statements aren't protected. But the jail call actually says, Mr. Joseph, we need to get some episodes in before you go to trial.

We need to get 10 episodes done before you go to trial. And let's be honest. The only reason why Mr. Davis is up-noted at all is because of his self-proclaimed role in the murder of Tupac Chippew. That is his notarriots. This legal process has been quite long. And Keefe D, by all accounts, has fought a lot, has fought so many steps of this. And you think about it, one way he did it, trying to get evidence thrown out entirely from this trial. Because in one key hearing, his lawyers tried to get evidence from his home thrown out, arguing that police embellished the urgency of it.

The judge, not buying it. When I look at the fact that this is a homicide investigation, there is the anticipated presence of the suspect with a prior violent felony in firearm history. as well as a scale door being present, which is not something common that officers necessarily encourage the officer and public safety concerns do exist. The defendant's omission arguments do not establish a showing of intentional or reckless misconduct required under Franks v. Delaware. They also don't show that the inclusion of the omitted facts would have defeated because of finding warrant was executed for such judicial authorization. There's no sure of that faith and social aggression is not warranted here.

Motion is denied. And in April of 2025, while awaiting trial for murder, Keefei D was found guilty of battery by a prisoner. Have the jurors reached a verdict? Yes, sir. Okay.

Do we have the verdict? Thank you. Court will now read the verdict out loud. District court, Clark County, Nevada, the state of Nevada plaintiff versus Dwayne Keith Davis defendant. Case numbers C-25 389079-2, Department 4.

Verdict. We, the jury in the above-entitled case, find the defendant, Duane Davis, as follows. Count one, battery by prisoner. Guilty of battery by prisoner. We, the jury, in the above-entiled-tiled case, find the defendant, Dwayne Davis as follows. Count two, challenge to fight, guilty of challenge to fight. Dated this 9th day, April 2025, signed by Ronnie Medina, four-person. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is this your verdict as read? So say you won, so say you all. Yes.

Thank you. By the way, I think that's significant because if KeevD were to take the stand in his murder trial, sometimes a prior conviction could be used against you. Okay, just a separate thought. Now, I will tell you, in a strategic move ahead of trial, Keefe D told the judge he wants her, not the jury, to decide his sentence if he's convicted. It's a gamble.

And his lawyers, by the way, have all. also reportedly tried to subpoena Sean Diddy Combs to testify, not to confirm the allegation, but to deny it, all in an attempt to prove that Keefe D is a storyteller whose alleged confessions were basically just storytelling, were just performances. Mr. Davis, my understanding is that Mr. Stamp has made you aware that you have the right to have the jury sentenced to it if they come back on a first-degree murder verdict, and you have decided to waive that right. Is that correct?

No, not. Okay. So what that means is when I am talking to the jurors, I'm not going to tell them what the potential penalties are for first-degree murder. Additionally, I'm not going to ask them if they can abide by those penalties and come up with a sentencing agreement or sentencing decision. And then at the end of the day, if that is the verdict, it would be me sentencing you on that as well as the enhancement.

Is that your understanding of everything that would happen given this waiver? So in general, the defense would have, or sorry, the jury would be able to sentence you on the first-degree murder portion. That carries either 20 years to life, or 20 to 50 years, 20 to life, or life without the possibility of parole. In any case, if there's an enhancement, and in this case, there are two enhancements. There's both the gang enhancement as well as the deadly weapon enhancement, that is left up to the judge.

In this case, if it's a first-degree murder, that has to be an equal and consecutive 20-to-life sentence. or life without the possibility, well, 20 to 50 sentence, 20 to life, or life without the possibility of parole. So that would be up to the judge sentencing, no matter what the jury found. And here we are. Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was gunned down on the Las Vegas strip, the first criminal trial in one of the most famous unsolved murders in American history, it is happening. Prosecutors are not alleging that D. Davis pulled the trigger, but they are arguing that under Nevada law,

They don't have to. They will try to prove that he was the shot caller, that he was the one who orchestrated this attack, that he supplied the weapon. Now Keefei D has pleaded not guilty. He is innocent unless proven guilty. But if he is convicted, he faces life in prison without parole. And we're going to be covering this every second. We're going to be following every moment of this trial streaming the entire trial on our

Law and Crimes Trials channel. So stay with us there. And we plan to do daily recaps on Sidebar as well. Thank you so much for joining us. As always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcasts. You can also check us out on NBC's Peacock as well. If you want to follow me, X Instagram, my News Nation show, Jesse Weber Live, Monday through Friday, 11 p.m. Eastern. See you next time, everybody.