New evidence places suspect in Las Vegas on the night of Tupac’s death, prosecutors say
Duane “Keffe D” Davis is set to appear in court again Tuesday, days after prosecutors filed documents claiming to show new evidence that Davis was in Las Vegas the night he is accused of orchestrating the killing of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur.
Davis, who was indicted in September 2023 on a murder charge in connection with Shakur’s death, renewed his efforts to seek bail this month after District Judge Carli Kierny declined to release him in June. Prosecutors last week filed a response to Davis’ new bail motion, arguing that they have additional evidence that places him in Las Vegas the night Shakur was shot, on Sept. 7, 1996.
Prosecutors argued that Davis had a hotel room in Las Vegas the night of the killing, under his wife’s name. The response also referenced a witness, Corey Edwards, who gave a statement to California police in 2006 claiming that he saw Davis in Las Vegas that night after the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon heavyweight fight at the MGM Grand.
“Unlike many other witnesses who have provided corroboration of Defendant’s guilt, Mr. Edwards is still alive,” prosecutors wrote in a footnote of the court document.
Davis’ attorney, Carl Arnold, has previously told the Review-Journal that there is “no proof” that Davis was in Las Vegas that night.
“Just because he says he’s here doesn’t mean that he was here,” Arnold said after a court hearing in April.
Prosecutors have alleged that Davis, a member of the South Side Crips, authorized the drive-by shooting that killed Shakur and injured Death Row Records CEO Marion “Suge” Knight, as part of an ongoing feud between the South Side Crips and the Bloods-associated Mob Piru gang.
The Mob Piru gang had ties to Death Row Records, while prosecutors have said that the South Side Crips were associated with Bad Boy Records, a label owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs that represented Christopher “Biggie” Wallace.
The shooting is alleged to have been in retaliation for a fight at the MGM Grand, involving Shakur, Knight and Davis’ nephew Orlando Anderson.
Davis, 61, has spoken publicly about his alleged involved in the shooting in interviews posted to YouTube, and in a 2019 book he co-authored. Arnold has argued that Davis made the statements and published the book to make money, and that his claims have been inconsistent.
Last month, Kierny reviewed bank records of Cash Jones, the man offering to pay Davis’ $112,500 bond premium. Kierny then refused Davis’ request for Jones to pay the premium, after stating during a court hearing that she wanted to ensure the bond was not posted with proceeds from talking about the slaying of Shakur.
Jones had testified that the money came from his entertainment business, but prosecutors argued that Jones was a middleman for someone who owned a movie company. Jones also gave an interview posted to YouTube, after the court hearing, in which he “tacitly admits he was wired money from a third party,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.
In Davis’ motion to reconsider granting him bail, Arnold argued that a law preventing someone from profiting off of a killing does not apply to Davis, because he has not been convicted of Shakur’s murder.
“Judge Kierny does not at this time have the legal authority to prevent Mr. Davis from being paid any proceeds deriving from his story related to his life or any connection he allegedly has with the murder of Mr. Shakur,” Arnold wrote.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.