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Last living suspect in 1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur indicted in Las Vegas on murder charge

Last living suspect in 1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur indicted in Las Vegas on murder charge

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From left, Las Vegas police Lt. Jason Johansson, Sheriff Kevin McMahill and Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson attends a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill speaks beside a photo of Duane “Keefe D” Davis during a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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This booking photo provided by the Las Vegas Police Department shows Duane “Keffe D” Davis, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Las Vegas. Davis was charged in the 1996 fatal drive-by shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur. (Las Vegas Police Department via AP)
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FILE - Rapper Tupac Shakur attends a voter registration event in South Central Los Angeles, Aug. 15, 1996. Las Vegas police said they have made an arrest, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, for the first time in the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur. (AP Photo/Frank Wiese, File)
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FILE - Rapper Tupac Shakur, left, and Death Row Records Chairman Marion Suge Knight, attend a voter registration event in South Central Los Angeles, on Aug. 15, 1996. Shakur died on Sept. 13, 1996, the victim of a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Police have made an arrest for the killing of Shakur. . (AP Photo/Frank Wiese/File)
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FILE - The intersection of Harmon and Las Vegas Blvd., in Las Vegas, Sunday, Sept. 8, 1996, where rap superstar Tupac Shakur and Death Row Records Chairman Marion “Suge” Knight were shot. Las Vegas police have made an arrest for the first time in the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey, File)
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Chief Judge Jerry Wiese listens as an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur is announced during a court hearing at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
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Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo announces an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur during a court hearing at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
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Clark County Chief Deputy Marc DiGiacomo, standing center, tells Chief Judge Jerry Wiese an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur during a court hearing at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
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FILE - A visitor observes a display of late hip hop artist Tupac Shakur during the press preview day for the “Tupac Shakur. Wake Me When I’m Free” exhibition, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, at The Canvas at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. The unsolved killing of Shakur has taken a major turn. Duane “Keffe D” Davis was arrested Friday morning, although the exact charge or charges were not immediately clear, according to two officials with first-hand knowledge of the arrest. The renewed activity comes nearly 30 years after Shakur was gunned down on Sept. 7, 1996. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
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FILE - Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, sister of the late Tupac Shakur, touches her brother’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as friends and family of the late rapper cheer during a ceremony on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in Los Angeles. The unsolved killing of Tupac Shakur has taken a major turn. Duane “Keffe D” Davis was arrested Friday morning, although the exact charge or charges were not immediately clear, according to two officials with first-hand knowledge of the arrest. The renewed activity comes nearly 30 years after Shakur was gunned down on Sept. 7, 1996. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
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This photo provided by the Las Vegas Police Department shows Duane “Keffe D” Davis during his arrest in Las Vegas, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Davis was charged in the 1996 fatal drive-by shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur. (Las Vegas Police Department via AP)
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CAPTION CORRECTION: CORRECTS SPELLING OF NAME: Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson stands beside a photo of Duane “Keffe D” Davis during a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Las Vegas. Monitor in rear has name misspelled. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill speaks during a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill speaks during a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson speaks during a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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CAPTION CORRECTION: CORRECTS SPELLING OF NAME: Las Vegas police Lt. Jason Johansson of the Homicide Section speaks beside a photo of Duane “Keffe D” Davis during a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Las Vegas. The screen in rear have name misspelled. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson speaks during a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson speaks during a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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A portion of a mural by artist sloe_motions depicting Tupac Shakur is seen on the side of Speedy Auto Tint on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Bellflower, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
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A portion of a mural by artist sloe_motions depicting Oscar De La Hoya, Vin Scully, Kobe Bryant, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur is seen on the side of Speedy Auto Tint on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Bellflower, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
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A portion of a mural by artist sloe_motions depicting Kobe Bryant, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur is seen on the side of Speedy Auto Tint on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Bellflower, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
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A portion of a mural by artist sloe_motions depicting Vin Scully, Kobe Bryant, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur is seen on the side of Speedy Auto Tint on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Bellflower, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
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A portion of a mural by artist sloe_motions depicting Vin Scully, Kobe Bryant, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur and Danny Trejo is seen on the side of Speedy Auto Tint on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Bellflower, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
By  RIO YAMAT and KEN RITTER
 
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A man who prosecutors say ordered the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur was arrested and charged with murder Friday in a long-awaited breakthrough in one of hip-hop’s most enduring mysteries.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis has long been known to investigators as one of four suspects identified early in the investigation. He isn’t the accused gunman but was described as the group’s ringleader by authorities Friday at a news conference and in court. In Nevada you can be charged with a crime, including murder, if you help someone commit the crime.

“Duane Davis was the shot caller for this group of individuals that committed this crime,” said Las Vegas police homicide Lt. Jason Johansson, “and he orchestrated the plan that was carried out.”

Davis himself has admitted in interviews and in his 2019 tell-all memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” that he provided the gun used in the drive-by shooting.

Authorities said Friday that Davis’ own public comments revived the investigation.

Davis, now 60, was arrested early Friday while on a walk near his home on the outskirts of Las Vegas, hours before prosecutors announced in court that a Nevada grand jury had indicted the self-described “gangster” on one count of murder with a deadly weapon. He is due in court next week.

The grand jury also voted to add a sentencing enhancement to the murder charge for gang activity that could add up to 20 additional years if he’s convicted.

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Hundreds of pages of transcripts released Friday provide a view into the first month of grand jury proceedings, which began in late July with testimony from former associates of Davis, friends of Shakur and a slate of retired police officers involved in the case early on. Their testimony painted a picture for the jurors of a deep, escalating rift between Shakur’s music label Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records, which had ties to Davis and represented Shakur’s rap rival, Biggie Smalls.

“It started the whole West Coast/East Coast” rivalry that primarily defined the hip-hop scene during the mid-1990s, one of Davis’ former associates testified.

The first-ever arrest in the case came after Las Vegas police in mid-July raided Davis’ home in the nearby city of Henderson for items they described at the time as “concerning the murder of Tupac Shakur.”

Davis denied an interview request Friday from jail, and court records don’t list an attorney who can comment on his behalf. Phone and text messages to Davis and his wife on Friday and in the months since the July 17 search weren’t returned.

In a statement Friday, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, the rapper’s sister, described the arrest as a victory.

“This is no doubt a pivotal moment. The silence of the past 27 years surrounding this case has spoken loudly in our community,” she said. “It’s important to me that the world, the country, the justice system, and our people acknowledge the gravity of the passing of this man, my brother, my mother’s son, my father’s son.”

On the night of Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur was in a BMW driven by Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight. They were waiting at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them and gunfire erupted.

Shakur was shot multiple times and died a week later at the age of 25.

Davis, in his memoir, said he was in the front passenger seat of the Cadillac and had slipped a gun into the back seat, from where he said the shots were fired.

He implicated his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, saying he was one of two people in the backseat. Anderson, a known rival of Shakur, had been involved in a casino brawl with the rapper shortly before the shooting.

“Little did anyone know that this incident right here would ultimately lead to the retaliatory shooting and death of Tupac Shakur,” said Johansson, the police lieutenant.

Anderson died two years later. He denied any involvement in Shakur’s death.

Emails seeking comment from two lawyers who have previously represented Knight were not immediately returned. Knight was grazed by a bullet fragment in the shooting but had only minor injuries. He is serving a 28-year prison sentence in California for an unrelated voluntary manslaughter charge.

On the night of July 17, Las Vegas police quietly surrounded the home where Davis lives with his wife, Paula Clemons. Police lapel video obtained by The Associated Press showed SWAT officers detaining a man and his wife outside the home lit up by a swirl of red and blue lights after announcing their presence on a bullhorn. The couple’s faces are blurred in the videos.

Police reported collecting multiple computers, a cellphone and hard drive, a Vibe magazine that featured Shakur, several .40-caliber bullets, two “tubs containing photographs” and a copy of Davis’ memoir.

Greg Kading, a retired Los Angeles police detective who spent years investigating the Shakur killing and wrote a book about it, said he’s not surprised by Davis’ arrest.

“He put himself squarely in the middle of the conspiracy,” Kading said, adding that Davis himself gave Las Vegas police “the ammunition and leverage to move forward.”

Kading said he had also anticipated the murder charge, because Davis’ public comments showed the crime was premeditated.

“All the other direct conspirators or participants are all dead,” Kading said. “Keefe D is the last man standing among the individuals that conspired to kill Tupac.”

The rapper’s death came as his fourth solo album, “All Eyez on Me,” remained on the charts, with some 5 million copies sold. Nominated six times for a Grammy Award, Shakur is still largely considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time.

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Associated Press writer Andrew Dalton contributed reporting from Los Angeles.
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RIO YAMAT
Yamat covers Nevada and the U.S. Southwest for The Associated Press. She is based in Las Vegas.