He was an 'expert' on the Tupac Shakur murder mystery. Now he's on trial for killing rapper

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Set us as preferred For nearly three decades, a onetime Compton gang leader named Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been one of the most vocal theorists about one of the most debated celebrity killings ever.Rapper Tupac Shakur was at the height of his fame when he was fatally shot Sept.7, 1996, while riding to a Las Vegas nightclub in a BMW driven by Death Row Records boss Marion “Suge” Knight.The events surrounding that night have been exhaustively investigated and recounted in numerous stories, documentaries and police investigations.

But the mystery about exactly what happened has endured.This week, Davis is on trial in Las Vegas, accused of orchestrating the murder.And prosecutors believe Davis himself will be the star witness who proves their case.That’s because Davis has spoken extensively about his role in the case, including in interviews with Los Angeles police and the media, in a 2019 tell-all book and during several bragging interviews done to promote the publication.Prosecutors aren’t accusing him of pulling the trigger.Rather, they say Davis masterminded the killing and provided the gun as an act of revenge over an escalating gang feud.

Davis has since disavowed some of his comments, but a judge ruled them admissible in court.In his memoir “Compton Street Legend,” Davis said he and his crew were in Vegas with plans to watch Mike Tyson fight Bruce Seldon.They learned that Davis’ cousin Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson had been jumped by members of Knight’s Death Row Records camp while walking in the lobby of the MGM Grand.Davis said he and his crew set out in search of Knight and Shakur.

Davis wrote in the book that he tossed the gun he’d been given into the back seat of the white Cadillac in which Anderson and Deandrae Smith sat.They spotted the Death Row caravan stopped at a red light, with Shaku...