A defense attorney for the ex-gang leader accused of orchestrating the drive-by killing of Tupac Shakur had an unusual message for jurors this week: don’t take his client’s “bullshit” seriously. Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, is currently on trial for Shakur’s killing after pleading not guilty. He was arrested 27 years after the hip-hop star was killed near the Las Vegas Strip.
Police said they long suspected Davis in Tupac’s death but only had enough evidence after he said in media interviews and a 2019 book that he was riding in a Cadillac with Tupac’s assailants and handed the gun to the men sitting behind him. Criminal defendants often attack evidence against them by saying it cannot be corroborated by other facts. In his opening statement earlier this week, the defense lawyer for Davis flipped the script.
Christian said the jury might be convinced Davis told a tall tale to boost sales of his memoir. "It's his only defense, and it's a good one," said Christian. However, calling your client a liar can be risky when you need to convince jurors his new story is the truth.
"You create this paradox," said defense attorney Neil Rockind, who is following the case. Sanft, his law firm and the Clark County District Attorney's Office did not respond to requests for comment. Shakur's killing in 1996 became a seminal moment in rap history and heightened hip-hop culture's violent image during “gangsta” rap’s heyday, an era defined by feuding between East and West Coast artists.
Davis said in his book Compton Street Legend that he wanted revenge after Shakur and associates including rap producer Marion “Suge” Knight beat up his nephew at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand casino on September 7, 1996. "Them jumping on my nephew gave us the ultimate green light to do something to their a**," Davis wrote. Later that night, Davis wrote he was riding with three other men in a white Cadillac and handed a gun to two men in the backseat, one of whom opened fire when they found Shakur and Knight’s car.
Police never identified the shooter but called Davis the “mastermind” who obtained the gun. Nevada law permits Davis to be charged with murder if he took part in the crime without pulling the trigger. In his opening statement, Sanft told jurors to question whether prosecutors or Davis himself have enough evidence to back up their stories.
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