Prosecutors wrapped up their case Wednesday against Duane “Keffe D” Davis in the Tupac Shakur murder trial after nearly two dozen witnesses testified about the night in 1996 when the rap star was shot and killed in Las Vegas.
Defense attorneys will begin calling witnesses to the stand later this week with closing arguments expected to begin Monday in the criminal case of the only person to stand trial in the 25-year-old hip-hop icon’s shooting death.
The defense is planning to call three witnesses, but they were not available to testify until Thursday.
Davis isn’t accused of firing the fatal shots, but prosecutors allege that he orchestrated the shooting in a revenge plot for a casino brawl hours earlier involving his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, and Shakur. The rapper was in Las Vegas for the highly anticipated heavyweight fight between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand.
Under Nevada law, someone who helps another person commit murder can be convicted of the crime.
On Wednesday, prosecutors played short clips of Davis’ YouTube interviews, during which he implored viewers to buy his book for what he referred to as “the real truth.” In one clip, Davis shared harsh words about Shakur and the attack at the MGM Grand.
Prosecutors also played a clip from earlier in the trial when Davis appeared to mouth words toward a witness testifying about the rivalry between Death Row Records and Bad Boy Entertainment.
Among the final prosecution witnesses to testify was a former Compton gang detective who characterized Davis as a high-ranking “shot caller.” Davis’ ultimate authority meant younger gang members would not have opened fire on Shakur with Davis present unless he allowed it, said Robert Ladd, a former Compton police officer who investigated gang homicides in the southern Los Angeles County community.
Ladd described Davis as a leader of the South Side Compton Crips who could order younger members to act. Ladd testified that Shakur’s shooting triggered a 10-day war in Compton between the South Side Crips and Mob Piru, resulting in three killings and 10 attempted murders.
The man who photographed rapper Tupac Shakur just moments before his death opens up about that fateful and tragic moment. Jonathan Gonzalez reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026.
Much of the prosecution’s case rested on Davis’ own words from previous law enforcement interviews and documentaries. Davis has said he was riding in a white Cadillac with Anderson and two other men when they pulled alongside Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight in a black BMW. In a 2008 police interview played for jurors last week, Davis said he provided the gun and Anderson opened fire.
The other men in the Cadillac have since died, limiting eyewitness testimony.
Asked Tuesday who would have been the leader among the four men in the Cadillac, Ladd answered, “Mr. Davis.”
Ladd said that Anderson, a younger-ranking gang member, could not have opened fire with Davis in the car without Davis’ permission. If Davis had told the others to handle the dispute later, Ladd testified, “there wouldn’t have been a shooting.”
Defense attorney Michael Sanft emphasized the lack of physical evidence supporting that theory. Ladd acknowledged that, aside from Davis’ own admissions, he had no physical evidence placing Davis in Las Vegas that night and no phone records showing Davis ordered the shooting.
Law enforcement experts said they collected bills and letters from Las Vegas hotels in Anderson’s and Davis’ residences, but they didn’t know when they were dated, or the current location of that evidence.
Sanft has characterized his client’s accounts as fabricated and accused investigators of failing to corroborate what he has said. During the initial stages of the trial, Sanft said Davis was not previously charged in the case because law enforcement knew that he was “full of crap.”
Other witnesses called by the prosecution included former law enforcement officers, including the first to respond to the scene of the shooting; the man who snapped what is believed to be the last photo of Shakur before the shooting; and a former Mob Piru member who helped Knight with security. Jurors also heard audio of Davis’ previous interviews.
Jonathan Landrum and Jessica Hill of The Associated Press contributed to this report.