In Tupac murder trial, the defendant is also the prosecution’s star witness

By Eric Levenson, CNN

(CNN) — Duane Davis, who goes by the nickname “Keffe D,” wrote a tell-all book in 2019 laying out his role in the fatal shooting of hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur.

The book, “Compton Street Legend,” opens in Las Vegas on the night of September 7, 1996, with a play-by-play account of his plan to confront Tupac and Death Row Records CEO Marion “Suge” Knight in retaliation for an earlier fight. Davis wrote that he got a gun, hopped in a Cadillac with three others, and drove around looking for the pair. They spotted Tupac in a car and then pulled up next to it, he wrote.

“No words exchanged, the time for talking had passed, the sh*t was about to go down!” he wrote.

That version of events now represents the key evidence against Davis as he prepares to stand trial in one of America’s most notorious unsolved murders. Prosecutors say Davis was the “shot caller” of the group that fatally shot Tupac and wounded Knight in 1996 and is the only person among them still alive.

The prosecution’s case is largely built on the defendant’s own words, including his book, podcast and documentary interviews and statements to police. The jury will not have a murder weapon, getaway vehicle or surveillance video of the shooting – but they’ll have his statements.

“In this case, almost all of the evidence the state will seek to introduce, will be to establish the credibility of Defendant’s various accounts of his role in the killing of Tupac Shakur,” prosecutors wrote in a recent filing.

Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty to murder with the use of a deadly weapon. Since his arrest, he has said his prior statements were false and just an attempt to sell books, and he has blamed his co-author for inserting false information.

This all creates an unusual dynamic, legal experts said: Prosecutors are set to argue the accused murderer is credible and trustworthy, while defense attorneys will deride their client as a liar and fraud.

“It’s quite the reversal,” CNN Chief Legal Analyst and anchor Laura Coates said. “You rarely see something like that.”

“He’s the defendant but he’s also the all-star witness, quite frankly,” CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson said.

The trial begins with jury selection Monday and is expected to last about a month. Davis faces up to life in prison if convicted.

For his part, Davis has frequently discussed that fateful night, including on the day he was arrested for Tupac’s murder in September 2023.

“What they got you for, man?” the arresting officer asked.

“The biggest case in Las Vegas history,” he said.

What the defendant told police

Davis has provided accounts of his role in Tupac’s murder a number of times, and his story has remained fairly consistent over the years.

In 2008, he spoke to federal task force agents in a “proffer,” or an agreement in which a suspect gives potentially useful information to police under the condition that police cannot use it against them, with some exceptions.

In that interview, Davis said Tupac and Knight had assaulted his nephew Orlando Anderson on the night of September 7, 1996. Davis then obtained a gun, and he, Anderson and two others went searching for Tupac and Knight in an attempt to retaliate, according to a document included in a recent legal filing.

He told law enforcement they spotted Tupac in a vehicle on the Vegas Strip, made a U-turn and pulled up to the rapper’s vehicle, according to the document. Davis, sitting in the front seat, said Anderson, in the back seat, fired the fatal shots, according to the interview notes.

Davis also told Las Vegas police about his role in Tupac’s death.

The proffer agreement meant police could not bring charges against Davis as a direct result of the information gathered from the proffer. Still, some details were revealed in Greg Kading’s 2011 book “Murder Rap,” and portions of it were later played in documentaries.

What Davis said in public

Then Davis started speaking about the case publicly.

In 2018, Davis agreed to an interview about the killing in BET’s “Death Row Chronicles.” He outlined his actions that night and said the fatal shots came from someone sitting in the back of the vehicle.

“Going to keep it for the code of the streets,” he said. “It just came from the backseat, bro.”

He published his book in February 2019 and wrote in detail about his desire for retaliation, obtaining a Glock pistol, searching for Tupac – and the moments that would change hip-hop forever.

“Tupac made an erratic move and began to reach down beneath his seat,” Davis wrote. “Pac pulled out a strap, and that’s when the fireworks started. One of my guys from the back seat grabbed the Glock and started bustin’ back.”

After the shooting, he said they drove away from the scene and abandoned their rental car. He said he and Knight are the only two people still alive who were there that night.

“The moral of the story, real Gangsters, are nothing to f**k with!” he wrote.

Davis said the process of writing the book was “therapeutic.” He called the proffer agreement “the deal of a lifetime” and said he was only speaking out because of its supposed protection.

“I would never have said a word if they didn’t give me such a sweet deal,” he wrote. “I didn’t have to do a day of time … and I didn’t tell on anybody but myself because everybody else was already dead. Think about it!”

After writing the book, Davis spoke in media interviews, including with VladTV, in which he encouraged people to buy the book.

Foggy memories, lack of witnesses

Four years after his book was published, Davis was indicted on a charge of murder that closely matches his version of events. The indictment offers several possibilities, saying Davis allegedly killed Tupac, and/or he aided and abetted the killing by obtaining a firearm and giving it to another person, and/or he conspired to carry out the killing.

To prove their case, prosecutors plan to use his statements against him, while the defense has tried to keep them out of the trial or argue they are false.

In a pretrial hearing, the judge overseeing the case ruled to allow the jury to hear his book and media interviews, saying the proffer agreement did not cover public statements. She also allowed prosecutors to use the police proffer statements, though she expressed some concerns with the legality.

Coates called Davis’ statements “gold-star evidence” for the prosecution, especially in a case with little other evidence.

“This is a self-inflicted wound and aids the prosecution immeasurably, otherwise they’d have no way to get the information,” she said.

In a recent filing, prosecutors sought to establish Davis’ credibility, saying many parts of the book are accurate and consistent with other evidence. For example, Davis wrote in the book he was wearing a “Ray Luca Crime Story suit” during the shooting, and prosecutors later found a Polaroid photo of Davis in that suit, according to the filing.

“While the book is salacious, prone to hyperbole, has inaccuracies, and at least one substantial lie, the book generally described the provable life of Defendant, Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis,” the filing states.

By contrast, the defense will point to the parts of the book that are provably false, in an attempt to discredit it, explained David Roger, the former Clark County, Nevada, district attorney.

“It really is going to revolve around the truthful and untruthful statements in the book,” he said.

Prosecutors will have to overcome a few key hurdles in their case. It’s been nearly 30 years since Tupac’s death, so some witnesses have died and others may not remember precise details.

“Fading memories will be the enemy of this prosecution,” Coates said.

Several potential witnesses may have credibility issues, too. Suge Knight, who was shot and wounded in the attack, has had his own legal troubles and is serving a 28-year prison sentence for a fatal hit-and-run. He is listed on the prosecution’s witness list, but he previously told TMZ he would not testify in the trial.

“The theme of this entire trial is, ‘Who can you believe?’” Coates said. “That answer is not easy and it’s not obvious.”

It’s not clear if Davis will testify. Yet he offered a preview of his defense during his 2023 arrest.

“I ain’t worried about it,” he said, according to police body-camera video. “I didn’t do sh*t.”

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