Developing·Case the developing record
#DC-0119

Duane Davis

Duane “Keffe D” Davis is charged in Nevada in Tupac Shakur’s 1996 killing; he has pleaded not guilty.

On trial · allegations
last updated 26 August 2026 · 13 sources
Confirmed facts
15
Open questions
5
Trial date
Underway
Plea
Not guilty
This case is still developing. Get an email when the file updates.
Audio brief · automated narration of the sourced record
Transcript

Case file Duane Davis, reference D C zero one one nine. The Associated Press reported that on September seventh, nineteen ninety-six, Tupac Shakur was in a black BMW in Las Vegas with Marion “Suge” Knight when a white Cadillac pulled up near the Las Vegas Strip and gunfire erupted. AP reported that Shakur died six days later. AP reported that Duane Keith Davis was arrested near his home outside Las Vegas on September twenty-ninth, twenty twenty-three, and indicted on a murder charge in Shakur’s killing. The charge is an allegation. AP reported that Davis pleaded not guilty in Clark County District Court. According to AP, Judge Carli Kierny ruled that Davis’s twenty nineteen memoir and a recording of a two thousand eight police interview are admissible at trial. AP reported the Las Vegas trial began with jury selection on August tenth, twenty twenty-six, and opening statements began August seventeenth. The file’s open questions include how jurors will be instructed on the interview and memoir, what evidence they will hear, what the defense will present, and what verdict, if any, the jury will reach. This has been an automated reading of case file D C zero one one nine at developing case dot com. Every fact you heard names a public source.

Timeline of what's confirmed15 entries
7 September 1996
Tupac Shakur was in a black BMW in Las Vegas with Marion “Suge” Knight when a white Cadillac pulled up beside them near the Las Vegas Strip and gunfire erupted.
AP
13 September 1996
Tupac Shakur died six days after the 7 September 1996 shooting, according to AP.
AP
29 September 2023
Duane Keith Davis was arrested near his home outside Las Vegas and was indicted on a murder charge in Shakur’s killing; the charge is an allegation.
AP
2 November 2023
Davis pleaded not guilty in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas to murder in the 1996 killing of Shakur.
AP
9 January 2024
A Nevada judge set bail at $750,000 and said Davis could serve house arrest with electronic monitoring ahead of trial if released.
AP
21 January 2025
Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny denied Davis’ bid to dismiss the murder case, saying he had not provided proof of immunity deals and that she found no evidence the delay in prosecution was intentional.
AP
18 February 2025
Judge Kierny postponed Davis’ murder trial and rescheduled it for 9 February 2026, citing defense developments and the need to ensure a fair trial.
AP
30 June 2026
Judge Kierny ruled that the 2019 memoir “Compton Street Legend,” co-written by Davis, can be used at trial.
AP
28 July 2026
Judge Kierny ruled that a recording of a 2008 police interview Davis gave to law enforcement is admissible at his upcoming trial, which AP reported is scheduled to start 10 August 2026.
AP
10 August 2026
Davis’s Las Vegas trial started with jury selection, and attorneys began vetting potential jurors in Clark County District Court; the murder charge remains an unproven allegation.
AP via The Washington Post · added 26 Aug 2026
13 August 2026
A jury of 6 men and 10 women was selected to hear the case against Davis, who has pleaded not guilty.
AP · added 26 Aug 2026
17 August 2026
Opening statements began; Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors the prosecution would rely on Davis’s own statements, while defense attorney Michael Sanft called the prosecution’s narrative fiction.
AP · added 26 Aug 2026
18 August 2026
Clark County forensic pathologist and medical examiner Dr. Lisa Gavin testified about Shakur’s cause of death during the second day of testimony.
AP · added 26 Aug 2026
20 August 2026
Jurors heard a 2008 police interview in which Davis told detectives that he was in the Cadillac and that his nephew Orlando Anderson fired the shots; Davis has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer has disputed the reliability of Davis’s statements.
AP · added 26 Aug 2026
25 August 2026
Former Compton gang detective Robert Ladd testified about Davis’s alleged role in the South Side Compton Crips, and defense attorney Michael Sanft emphasized the lack of physical evidence supporting that theory.
AP · added 26 Aug 2026
Open questionsunconfirmed · not conclusions
How the court will instruct jurors about the 2008 interview and the 2019 memoir.unconfirmed_trial_procedure · unconfirmed
What evidence jurors will ultimately hear beyond the admitted interview and memoir.unconfirmed_trial_record · unconfirmed
What verdict, if any, a jury will reach on the murder charge against Davis.unresolved_charge · unconfirmed
Whether the state rests on 26 August 2026 and whether closing arguments occur on 31 August 2026 as anticipated.unconfirmed_future_schedule · unconfirmed
What testimony and evidence the defense will present after the prosecution's case.unconfirmed_trial_record · unconfirmed
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