Former gang leader Duane Keffe D Davis begins trial in Tupac Shakur murder case

Former gang boss Duane “Keffe D” Davis is on trial in Las Vegas for the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, marking the first prosecution in the decades‑old case. Davis, a former leader of the Southside Crips, was indicted on murder and conspiracy charges after a Clark County grand jury found probable cause based on newly obtained witness testimony and forensic evidence linking him to the drive‑by shooting outside the MGM Grand.

Prosecutors presented a timeline that places Davis at the scene on September 7, 1996, and allege he hired a hitman, citing recorded conversations and a 1996 phone call as key evidence. The defense contended that the case relies on unreliable informants and that the evidence does not meet the burden of proof. The trial has drawn attention from Shakur’s family, who have long sought justice, and from law‑enforcement agencies that have pursued leads for more than three decades.

The verdict will determine whether the first criminal trial in the Tupac Shakur murder brings closure to a high‑profile homicide that has remained unsolved for thirty years and may set a precedent for other cold‑case prosecutions.