Former gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis has pleaded not guilty to the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur during an appearance in a Las Vegas court. The court assigned a lawyer to represent him.
Tupac Shakur was 25 years old when he was fatally shot in a drive-by attack in Las Vegas. Davis was charged in September, with police alleging that he conspired with his nephew to plan the shooting after a casino altercation with Shakur.
Police presented hotel security footage from September 7, 1996, during a news conference, showing several men assaulting a man identified as Orlando Anderson, Davis’s late nephew.
This incident was cited as the trigger for the retaliatory shooting in which Shakur was killed while waiting in his car at a red light. Davis was reported to have obtained the weapon from an unnamed associate, and there were “own admissions” from Davis to media outlets stating he was in the vehicle from which the shots were fired.
The three individuals who were with Davis in the car at the time of the shooting, including his nephew, have all passed away. It remains unspecified who actually fired the gun.
Tupac Shakur, known by his stage name as 2Pac, is recognized as one of hip hop’s most significant artists, having sold over 75 million records worldwide and producing chart-topping tracks such as California Love, All Eyez On Me, and Changes. In June, the late rapper received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.