Keefe D Trial: Evidence, Pretrial Rulings, and Delays

Duane “Keefe D” Davis is scheduled to stand trial in Las Vegas on August 10, 2026, on one count of murder with a deadly weapon with intent to promote a criminal gang, in connection with the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur. The Keefe D trial will be heard in Clark County District Court before Judge Carli Kierny. Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty and has been held without bail since his arrest in September 2023.¹²

A final status check is set for July 14, 2026.³

What Davis Is Accused of Doing

On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot in a drive-by attack while riding in a car driven by Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight near the Las Vegas Strip, hours after a brawl at the MGM Grand between Shakur’s group and Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, a Southside Compton Crips member and Davis’s nephew. Shakur died six days later.⁴

Prosecutors allege Davis was the “on-ground, on-site commander” who ordered the killing, obtained the murder weapon, and handed it to a passenger in the backseat of the white Cadillac from which the shots were fired. Davis has publicly identified Anderson as the shooter. Anderson denied involvement and was killed in a separate 1998 Compton shooting. Of the six people in the two cars, only Davis and Knight are still alive.⁵⁶

Why the Case Moved Forward Now

The murder went unsolved for nearly three decades. It moved forward because of Davis’s own words. In 2008 he described his role during a recorded interview with a joint federal and LAPD task force investigating the killing of Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, and he gave a further interview to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police homicide detectives in 2009. He appeared in a 2017 BET documentary discussing the crime, and in 2019 he published a memoir, Compton Street Legend, in which he stated he provided the gun.⁷⁸

Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo has said that had Davis “never opened his mouth, never written the book, he would probably not have been prosecuted for the crime.”³⁹¹⁰

The Evidence Prosecutors Plan to Use

The case rests heavily on Davis’s own words rather than on forensic evidence from a nearly 30-year-old crime scene. Prosecutors plan to present his memoir, his media interviews, his recorded law enforcement statements from 2008 and 2009, jailhouse phone calls, grand jury testimony, and corroborating witness accounts. DiGiacomo has described the case as built on an “admixture” of Davis’s repeated confessions and eyewitness testimony.¹¹

They also have documentary evidence, including a hotel reservation made by Davis’s wife in Las Vegas at the time of the murder, which prosecutors say contradicts earlier defense claims that no record placed Davis in the area.⁷ In late June 2026, prosecutors turned over roughly 4,000 pages of additional records related to the 1997 murder of Notorious B.I.G., some of which they said appear relevant to the Shakur case. The defense flagged concern about the timing and volume but said it still expected to be ready.¹²

What the Defense Is Arguing

Davis’s current attorney, Michael Sanft, has argued that the memoir was ghostwritten and “fictionalized to make a profit,” that Davis’s promotional statements were made “for entertainment purposes,” and that his police interviews were involuntary because he feared for himself and his family and had been told his words would not be used against him.¹³

Earlier defense counsel pursued a different angle. In February 2025, then-attorney Carl Arnold cited a private investigator’s finding that “several witnesses” could testify Davis was not in Las Vegas at the time of the shooting. Arnold separately argued Davis was a liar whose public admissions could not be trusted. Whether Sanft will pursue the alibi theory at trial is not clear.¹⁴⁷

Pretrial Rulings That Shape the Trial

Immunity Argument Rejected

Davis argued that a 1998 federal proffer agreement — under which a suspect talks to investigators in exchange for a promise that their words won’t be used against them — shielded his 2008 and 2009 interviews and required dismissal of the case. Judge Kierny rejected the argument in January 2025. On November 4, 2025, the Nevada Supreme Court denied his petition for extraordinary relief, finding Davis had not shown the proffer protections extended to his later interviews or that Nevada was bound by the federal agreement.¹⁵¹⁶

Home Search Evidence

The defense moved to suppress the items seized during the July 2023 search of Davis’s home, arguing the warrant affidavit contained “numerous defects” and that the nighttime search was improper. Judge Kierny denied the motion on February 17, 2026, finding no intentional or reckless misconduct or bad faith in the authorization of the warrant.¹⁷

Memoir Admitted

On June 30, 2026, Judge Kierny ruled the memoir admissible, finding Davis “adopted the book as his own” and had encouraged others to buy it “to get the real truth.” She also ruled that Davis’s 2008 and 2009 police statements were voluntary, though she voiced some reservation about the 2008 interview, during which an LAPD detective reportedly told Davis, “What is said right here cannot be used against you.” She said of that interview, “I’m not necessarily saying it’s admissible. I’m saying it’s not involuntary at this time.”¹³

Jury and Gang Evidence

Judge Kierny denied the defense’s request for full jury sequestration and approved partial measures, including using a back elevator to limit jurors’ exposure to media. She granted the prosecution’s request to use gang-affiliation language at trial, consistent with the gang enhancement in the charge. The court is preparing for a large jury pool.³

Why Davis Has Remained in Custody

Bail was set at $750,000. In June 2024, music executive Cash “Wack 100” Jones testified that he had paid roughly $112,500 as a “gift” from his business accounts. Prosecutors challenged the source, presenting a VladTV interview in which Jones discussed plans to produce a TV series about Davis’s life and a jailhouse call between the two men discussing a contract. Judge Kierny denied release on June 26, 2024, finding the financial records “insufficient” and raising concerns that Jones might be acting as a “front” and that the arrangement could run afoul of Nevada’s “Son of Sam” laws restricting people from profiting from their crimes.¹⁸

Prosecutors also flagged an October 2023 jailhouse call in which Davis used the term “green light,” which they defined as an “authorization to kill” directed at witnesses. The alleged threat led the federal government to provide relocation resources for at least one cooperating witness. Davis’s attorneys said the call concerned threats against Davis’s own family. The judge noted no “explicit” threat was made but said the calls were cause for concern.¹⁹

Why the Trial Kept Getting Pushed

The trial has been postponed multiple times, largely because of turnover in Davis’s defense team. He was first represented by the Clark County Public Defender’s Office, then hired Carl Arnold in January 2024. In February 2025, Arnold obtained a delay to develop the alibi theory, moving the trial from March 2025 to February 2026.¹⁴

In August 2025, Davis replaced Arnold with Robert Draskovich and Michael Pandullo. Draskovich requested another delay to review “voluminous” discovery, and the trial was reset for August 10, 2026. In March 2026, Draskovich withdrew, citing disputes over his retainer and the need for additional investigators and experts.²⁰²¹ Sanft has since taken over and confirmed he is preparing for the August date.¹

A Separate Jail Conviction

While awaiting trial, Davis was convicted of battery by a prisoner and challenging a person to a fight after a December 2024 altercation at the Clark County Detention Center. Surveillance video showed roughly 30 seconds of wrestling in a day room following an exchange a corrections officer testified amounted to a challenge. A jury returned its verdict on April 9, 2025, and Davis was sentenced to 16 to 40 months in prison with credit for time served.²²²³

The Civil Suit Is Not the Criminal Case

On April 28, 2026, Tupac’s stepbrother Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur filed a wrongful death suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of the estate of Tupac’s late stepfather, Mutulu Shakur. The complaint names Davis and up to 100 unnamed co-conspirators and alleges a “broader, more complex conspiracy to murder Tupac that involved much more than mere retaliation for a prior altercation.” It references a Netflix docuseries that included a 2008 police interview in which Davis alleged Sean “Diddy” Combs offered him $1 million to kill Shakur and Knight. Combs has denied the allegation and is not a defendant. The civil case proceeds separately from the criminal prosecution in Las Vegas.²⁴⁵

1
8 News Now. Tupac Shakur Murder Trial in Las Vegas Set for Summer, New Attorney Says
2
ABC News. Book That Tupac Shakur Murder Suspect Wrote Is Clear for Use in Trial, Judge Rules
3
Fox 5 Vegas. Las Vegas Judge Denies Motion to Sequester Jury, Suppress Evidence in Tupac Murder Case
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Los Angeles Times. Tupac Shakur and Orlando Anderson
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BBC. Tupac Shakur Murder Case
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NPR. Nearly 3 Decades Since Tupac Shakur’s Killing, Alleged Mastermind Will Be Arraigned
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8 News Now. Tupac Murder: Prosecutors Say New Evidence Places Keefe D in Las Vegas
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NBC News. Suspect in Tupac Shakur Killing
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ABC News. Items Seized From Home of Tupac Shakur Murder Investigation Subject
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Court TV. Tupac Shakur Death: Murder Charge Upheld in Duane Keffe D Davis Case
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ABC News. DA: Tupac Murder Suspect Plotting to Harm Witnesses
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KOLO-TV. Duane Davis Due in Court for Hearing on Evidence in Tupac Murder Trial
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Las Vegas Review-Journal. Judge Rules Memoir by Defendant in Tupac Killing Case Is Admissible
14
USA Today. Tupac Murder Trial Delayed
15
8 News Now. Tupac Murder: Keefe D Asks Nevada Supreme Court for Dismissal Over Immunity
16
FindLaw. Davis v. Eighth Judicial District Court, No. 91041
17
News 3 Las Vegas. Judge Rejects Motion to Suppress Evidence in Tupac Shakur Murder Case
18
KTNV. Judge Denies Bail for Duane Keefe D Davis Ahead of Tupac Murder Trial
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ABC News. Authorities Investigating Tupac Shakur Murder Suspect Duane Davis
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News 3 Las Vegas. Trial Date for Man Charged in Tupac Shakur Murder Delayed to Summer 2026
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8 News Now. Tupac Murder Trial Likely Delayed After Las Vegas Lawyer Withdraws
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8 News Now. Trial Underway for Las Vegas Jail Fight Involving Tupac Murder Suspect Keffe D
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KTNV. Duane Keefe D Davis Sentenced on Charges Related to Jailhouse Fight
24
Forbes. Tupac’s Family Files New Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Rapper’s Murder