A Las Vegas judge refused to dismiss a murder charge on Tuesday against Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the man accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur.
Davis, 61, has been in custody since he was indicted in September 2023 on a charge of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang.
Defense attorney Carl Arnold filed a motion this month asking District Judge Carli Kierny to dismiss the case, arguing that officials had delayed prosecuting Davis and were in violation of an agreement that reportedly gave his client immunity from prosecution.
Prosecutors last week filed a response arguing that Davis has provided “absolutely no proof” that he is immune from prosecution in Nevada.
After listening to arguments on Tuesday, Kierny agreed with prosecutors, stating that there is no agreement protecting Davis from facing a murder charge in Nevada.
Following the hearing, Arnold said he will be deciding in the next couple of days if he will appeal the judge’s decision to the Nevada Supreme Court. He said he was not surprised that the judge did not dismiss the murder charge.
“You’re not just going to dismiss the biggest case in the U.S. right off the bat,” Arnold said. “But you have to put these issues out for an appellate court.”
Davis, a reported member of the South Side Crips, is accused of ordering the drive-by shooting that killed Shakur and injured Death Row Records CEO Marion “Suge” Knight. The shooting was allegedly part of an ongoing feud between the South Side Crips and the Bloods-associated Mob Piru gang, and was in retaliation for a fight at the MGM Grand involving Shakur, Knight, and Davis’ nephew Orlando Anderson.
The South Side Crips were associated with the Bay Boy Records label owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs, while the Mob Piru gang was tied to Death Row Records, prosecutors have said.
Davis’ defense attorney has pointed to a reported “proffer agreement” from 2008 between Davis and officials who were investigating the murder of Christopher “Biggie” Wallace, a Bay Boy Records artist killed less than a year after Shakur was fatally shot. Prosecutors have argued that the agreement does not bind any other law enforcement agency or prosecuting authority.
Prosecutors have also argued there was not a delay in charging Davis because the investigation into Shakur’s killing was renewed after Davis made public statements about the shooting in media interviews and in a 2019 co-written book.
Davis remains in the Clark County Detention Center with a $750,000 bail.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.
