In a significant development in the investigation into the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, the only surviving witness, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, has been indicted on charges of open murder with the use of a deadly weapon and a gang enhancement. The indictment follows Davis’ arrest during a walk near his home, with law enforcement officials emphasizing the role he played as the “on-ground, on-site commander” who allegedly “ordered the death” of Shakur.
The charges were unveiled during a press conference, revealing that a grand jury had been actively involved in the case for several months. Davis, aged 60, is described as the “shot-caller” of a group of three suspects, all of whom are now deceased. He is accused of orchestrating the plan to murder the iconic rapper and is believed to have obtained the murder weapon from a “close associate.”
Davis, a known figure to investigators, has previously admitted his presence in the Cadillac during the drive-by shooting in September 1996. His nephew, Orlando Anderson, was considered a prime suspect in Shakur’s murder but was killed in a separate shooting in 1998.
The recent arrest and indictment of Davis were accompanied by a police raid on his wife’s Nevada home, where authorities seized various items, including electronic devices, a Pokeball USB drive, and materials related to Davis’s 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend.” The search warrant also authorized the collection of any notes or documents mentioning Shakur’s murder.
During the press conference, officials confirmed that the seized evidence corroborates information gathered over the course of the investigation. The case gained renewed attention in 2018 when Davis made statements that “reinvigorated” the inquiry. The rapper’s murder occurred during a drive-by shooting on September 7, 1996, when he was riding in a car with Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight. Shakur was just 25 years old at the time, and the investigation has remained a prominent unsolved mystery in the world of hip-hop.
