Tupac’s Alleged Killer Pleads Not Guilty To Rapper’s Murder
Duane Keith Davis, known as Keefe D, who is a suspect in Tupac Shakur’s 1996 murder, has pleaded not guilty, CNN reports. Davis arrived in a Las Vegas courtroom on Thursday (Nov. 2) for this third scheduled arraignment. The previous two were rescheduled for Davis to find counsel to represent him. At Thursday’s arraignment, he told Judge Tierra Jones that he was unable to retain counsel still. Judge Jones said that the court would appoint one for him.
Davis is accused of orchestrating the September 7, 1996, shooting that killed Shakur. He was arrested on September 29 and held without bail since. According to police, he is the only suspect in the case who is still alive. The prosecution is not seeking a death penalty on Davis, per CNN.
Man Arrested In Connection With Tupac Shakur's 1996 Murder
Shakur was killed on Sept. 7, 1996, in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. He was sitting inside a black car with Marion “Suge” Knight. Knight, at the time, was the CEO of Death Row Records. On the night of Sept. 7, 1996, police say the two stopped at a red light near the iconic Las Vegas Strip when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them, and gunfire erupted. The “Dear Mama” rapper was shot multiple times. He succumbed to his injuries a week later in a local hospital.
Over the years, Davis has admitted that he was in the convertible during the shooting. He confessed his involvement in his 2019 tell-all memoir, Compton Street Legend. In a BET interview, he claimed that his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, was the one who pulled the trigger from the backseat of the vehicle. The shooting erupted after a casino brawl in which Shakur, Anderson, and others were involved.
While Tupac was only 25 at the time of his death, his impact on hip-hop culture spans several generations. In his lifetime, he released two albums: 1995’s Me Against the World and 1996’s All Eyez on Me. After his death, he had three posthumous releases: 1996’s The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, 2001’s Until the End of Time and 2004’s Loyal to the Game. All of his albums debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
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