Nearly 30 years after the rapper was fatally shot in Las Vegas, prosecutors will use Duane Davis’ own words as they try to prove he helped orchestrate the attack
The long-awaited trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the only person ever charged in connection with Tupac Shakur’s 1996 killing, remains scheduled to begin August 10 in Las Vegas. Shakur was 25 years old when he was shot shortly after 11 p.m. on September 7, 1996, while stopped at a red light near the intersection of East Flamingo Road and Koval Lane, just off the Las Vegas Strip. He was riding in the passenger seat of a black BMW driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight, who suffered minor injuries. Shakur died from his injuries six days later, on September 13.
With the trial approaching, Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny has issued several evidentiary pretrial rulings. Most significantly, the judge denied the defense’s effort to suppress Davis’ now somewhat infamous December 18, 2008 recorded interview with police. Davis’ attorneys argued that the statements were made under an immunity agreement and should not be used against him, but the court found that the interview was not involuntary and refused to exclude it.
The judge also found no legal basis to exclude Davis’ 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, in which he discussed his alleged knowledge of and involvement in the events surrounding Shakur’s killing. Clark County prosecutors are expected to use portions of the book and the 2008 interview to support their case, though the judge will still be able to rule on specific passages or statements as they arise during trial. Prosecutors argue that evidence gathered during the nearly 30-year investigation supports the credibility of portions of Davis’ own narrative (in various interviews and his own book) and helps identify those allegedly involved. That issue is scheduled to be addressed during an August 4 calendar call and motion hearing.
Prosecutors were also granted permission to introduce evidence of alleged gang affiliations to establish motive and identify those allegedly involved in the shooting (though all other parties allegedly present are now deceased, besides Suge Knight, currently incarcerated). However, Kierny ordered the gang-enhancement portion of the case to be handled separately. so that evidence about alleged gang ties does not unfairly influence the jury.
The court also partially granted a defense request to sequester the jury. The public docket does not fully detail what this will entail, but partial sequestration generally involves limiting jurors’ “outside exposure” or contact with others during specific portions of a trial (without isolating them for the entire trial).
The state has also filed motions seeking permission for at least one witness to testify through Zoom or on video. Meanwhile, the court has approved media requests allowing cameras inside the courtroom so the trial will be streamed.
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Both sides currently disagree on how long the trial will take. The defense estimates about four weeks, while prosecutors believe it could last six weeks. The latest docket lists jury selection and trial proceedings beginning before Judge Kierny at 9 a.m. on August 10, 2026.
Prosecutors allege Davis was inside the white Cadillac from which the shots were fired, along with his nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, Terrence “T-Brown” Brown and DeAndre “Big Dre” Smith. All three have since died. Davis has pleaded not guilty to murder with the use of a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang.
Will Tupac finally get justice?