Former investigators testified Wednesday about contradictory statements the man accused of orchestrating the killing of Tupac Shakur made to law enforcement about his involvement in the crime.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, is on trial in connection with the 1996 drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip that led to the rapper’s death days later.
Davis’ own statements are central to the case and drove a renewed law enforcement effort to investigate the long unresolved slaying. Prosecutors played clips of those prior comments as part of their opening statement Monday. Davis’ defense attorney has taken the unusual step of attacking his own client’s credibility.
Authorities have alleged Davis was the “shot-caller” who conceived the plan to exact revenge on Shakur and Death Row Records CEO Marion “Suge” Knight in retaliation for an attack by Shakur and his entourage against Davis’ nephew, Orlando Anderson, earlier that night at the MGM Grand.
According to prosecutors, the Bloods-associated Mob Piru gang had ties to Death Row Records, and the South Side Crips — of which prosecutors say Davis was a leader — were associated with Bad Boy Records, a label owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs.
1998 interview
Former FBI Special Agent Wade Lee testified that investigators built a drug trafficking case against Davis.
“He was indicted and arrested for selling two kilos of cocaine,” Lee said.
Davis initially faced up to 10 years in prison, according to the agent.
In 1998, law enforcement did a “proffer” session with Davis, a confidential interview in which a defendant is supposed to tell the truth, but will face no consequences for what they say in the case pending against them, said Lee.
Disclosure could lead to a lighter sentence.
The purpose was to learn what Davis knew about drug and gang activity in the Watts and Compton areas of Los Angeles. Federal authorities knew he was also a person of interest in the killing of Shakur, so they asked him questions about that as well, the former agent said.
Davis reported being friendly with Knight before the beating of his nephew, according to a document displayed in court.
He said in the interview that on the night of the killing, Knight and Bloods members attacked Anderson because of a previous incident. In the aftermath, Davis, Anderson and their respective girlfriends returned to their room at the Excalibur and stayed there the rest of the night, according to Lee.
Davis speculated that maybe the killing was carried out by Compton police officers working for Knight because Tupac was thinking about leaving Death Row, the former agent said.
Knight, who was driving the black BMW occupied by him and Shakur at the time of the shooting, was grazed in the head by a bullet.
Under cross examination from defense attorney Michael Sanft, Lee acknowledged not following up on some allegations made by Davis, including his claims about the involvement of Compton police in the killing of Shakur.
There were multiple aspects to the investigation into Shakur’s death, said Lee, and his unit was focused on gang and drug activity.
2008 interview
In an interview 10 years later, Davis told a very different story.
Former Los Angeles Police Department Detective Daryn Dupree testified that he was part of a task force investigating the killing of the rapper Christopher Wallace, better known as Biggie Smalls or the Notorious B.I.G.
Everyone was a suspect, said Dupree.
Investigators considered the possibility that the Crips were involved and the possibility that the killing of Wallace — who had been affiliated with Death Row Records rival Bad Boy Records — was payback for the slaying of Shakur, according to the former detective.
The vehicle connected to that killing was an Impala, and Davis had an Impala, he said, adding later that he ultimately decided Davis had no involvement in the slaying of Wallace.
Authorities decided to use drug-sale allegations to attempt to gain leverage over Davis.
Records indicate Davis was tied to the sale of PCP and a kilo of cocaine. He was facing a federal life sentence, prosecutors previously said.
Davis again decided to talk and in 2008 participated in another confidential interview.
He denied involvement in the killing of Wallace, Dupree said, but told authorities: “We did the other one.”
That disclosure came as a surprise, the ex-detective testified.
“We didn’t ask him any questions about Tupac,” he said. “He talked about that on his own.”
Davis said he handed a gun to Deandrae “Dre” Smith, who sat in the back seat of the white Cadillac the group was driving, but that Smith was afraid to shoot, so Anderson — also in the back seat — committed the shooting, according to Dupree.
Anderson was fatally shot in 1998. Smith died in 2004, the Associated Press has reported.
The task force signed up Davis as a confidential informant, trying to verify his story.
“Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs supposedly had given money to Zip Martin to give to Mr. Davis for payment of the Tupac murder,” Dupree said.
Davis was sent to New York to meet with Martin, but Martin was sick and Davis was unable to rekindle their relationship.
Dupree said Davis’ account of the shooting seemed truthful, because it implicated his beloved nephew.
“I didn’t think Mr. Davis was lying because he put the gun in his nephew’s hand,” he said.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com.
