One of the last living witnesses to the notorious drive-by shooting death of Tupac Shakur has been arrested and charged with the 1996 murder of the iconic rapper.
Las Vegas law enforcement officials announced on Friday that 60-year-old Duane “Keffe D” Davis had been arrested and charged with one count of murder with the use of a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement in connection with the fatal shooting of Tupac.
A Clark County judge reportedly denied Davis bail during his court hearing Friday.
Clark County prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo said evidence was presented to the grand jury that Davis acted as the “on-ground, on-site commander” who “ordered the death” of Tupac “for the purpose of seeking retribution.”
“Many people who did not believe the murder of Tupac Shakur was important to this police department, I am here to tell you: that was simply not the case,” Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a press conference on Friday afternoon.
“Our goal was always to hold those responsible for Tupac’s violent murder accountable,” McMahill added.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department homicide Lieutenant Jason Johansson explained, “This case has been reviewed by our homicide team and our homicide detectives for over two and a half decades, and our persistence in this investigation has paid off.”
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told reporters, “It has often been said that justice delayed is justice denied. Not in this case. Today, justice will be served.”
The long-awaited breakthrough in the cold case is decades in the making. Shakur was gunned down on the Las Vegas strip 27 years ago.
On the night of Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur and Death Row Records CEO Marion “Suge” Knight attended a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand Arena. Following the fight, members of the Death Row Records entourage allegedly physically assaulted Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson – the nephew of Davis.
True Crime Daily reported, “Davis and other members of the Crips reportedly found out about the incident with Anderson, which prompted Davis to allegedly ‘devise a plan to obtain a firearm and retaliate against Knight and Shakur for what occurred.'”
Shakur and Knight then drove in a black BMW to an afterparty.
Davis – a leader of the South Side Crips gang – was reportedly in a white Cadillac with three others, including Anderson. Davis allegedly handed a gun to someone in the backseat. When the BMW was stopped at a red light, the Cadillac pulled up beside the car and someone in the backseat executed a deadly drive-by shooting. Shakur was shot four times. The Cadillac sped off.
Tupac, 25, was taken to University Medical Center and died six days later on Sept. 13, 1996.
Anderson was reportedly a suspect in Shakur’s killing, but he was fatally shot two years after Tupac’s death.
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