Opening statements began Monday in a Las Vegas courtroom for the trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis, a former California gang boss accused of orchestrating the 1996 murder of rap star Tupac Shakur. Davis is the first person to be charged in connection to the legendary rapper's death nearly 30 years after the drive-by shooting.
Prosecutors allege that Davis served as the "on-site commander" of the effort to kill Shakur, leading a group of men in an act of gang retaliation for the beating of his nephew. The prosecution claims that Davis participated in the shooting and supplied the murder weapon. According to prosecutors, Davis and three other men, who are now deceased, were involved in the fatal confrontation.
Davis denies the charges, and his attorney has described the prosecution's narrative as "fiction," pointing to a lack of hard evidence. The long-unsolved shooting gripped the hip-hop community until Davis was indicted in 2023. If convicted, Davis could face life in prison without parole.