Tupac Shakur murder suspect Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis considers posting $750,000 bond ahead of trial
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the man accused of killing rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996, is considering posting his $750,000 bond as his long-awaited murder trial approaches.
The issue came up Tuesday during a hearing before Clark County District Judge Carli Kierny, who is considering whether prosecutors will be allowed to present statements Davis made to Los Angeles law enforcement in 2008. Davis’ defense attorney, Michael Sanft, asked the judge to delay the trial so his client could arrange to post bond, but prosecutors opposed the request. The judge said Davis could post the bond at any time, including while the trial is underway, with the bond becoming a larger issue only after a verdict.
Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. His trial is scheduled to begin Monday and is expected to last four to five weeks.
The case centers on the September 1996 shooting of Shakur in Las Vegas. Davis has previously said he was riding in a vehicle with his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, when Anderson opened fire on Shakur. Anderson denied involvement in the killing and died in a 1998 shooting in Compton, California.
Prosecutors are seeking to introduce a statement Davis gave to Los Angeles authorities in 2008. Portions of that interview later appeared in a documentary about Shakur’s death. Davis’ attorney argues the statement should be excluded because his client provided it after being offered immunity from prosecution.
Sanft urged the judge to suppress the statement, while prosecutors argued that Davis’ account is central to the case. Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told the court that Davis’ situation differs from the circumstances surrounding comedian Bill Cosby’s criminal case, in which prosecutors had promised not to prosecute him before he gave testimony in a civil proceeding.
Davis has given varying accounts of his whereabouts at the time of Shakur’s shooting. At one point, he said he was not in Las Vegas when the rapper was killed. Prosecutors say that account conflicts with several other statements in which Davis placed himself at the scene, including his 2008 interview, an appearance in the documentary “Death Row Chronicles” and his 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend.”
Davis has said in his memoir that he was promised immunity when he spoke with Los Angeles police about Shakur’s death and the 1997 killing of Christopher Wallace, known as The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls. Prosecutors have said they are unaware of any agreement that prevented Davis from being prosecuted.
Judge Kierny did not rule Tuesday on whether the 2008 statement can be used at trial. She indicated that the statement appears to be central to both sides’ cases and said it could represent the starting point for much of the evidence being presented.
Davis’ legal troubles have continued since his arrest in 2023. He was later convicted of misdemeanor charges stemming from a jailhouse fight and sentenced to 16 to 40 months in prison. His effort to obtain a new trial based on alleged juror misconduct was unsuccessful.
In June, Kierny also ruled that prosecutors could present evidence concerning Davis’ history as a leader within the Southside Compton Crips, including material from his memoir. The book recounts Davis’ version of events surrounding the deaths of Shakur and Wallace.
The upcoming trial represents the most significant legal development in the nearly three-decade-old investigation into Shakur’s killing.
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