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Tupac murder accused told police in 2008 his nephew fired fatal shots

August 21, 2026

Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, is standing trial in Las Vegas for the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, accused of orchestrating the drive-by shooting even though he allegedly didn't pull the trigger himself. During the trial, prosecutors presented a 2008 police interview recording where Davis stated he provided the gun and described how his nephew Orlando Anderson ultimately fired the fatal shots after receiving the weapon in the back seat of their vehicle. Davis has entered a not guilty plea, while his defense attorney argues that his client's previous statements, including those in a 2019 memoir titled "Compton Street Legend," are unreliable and cannot be trusted as factual accounts.

Who is affected

  • Duane "Keffe D" Davis (the defendant on trial)
  • Davis's nephew Orlando Anderson (now deceased, identified as the alleged shooter)
  • Tupac Shakur (the murder victim)
  • Marion "Suge" Knight (Death Row Records founder who was with Shakur during the shooting)
  • Sean "Diddy" Combs (mentioned in Davis's interview regarding discussions about the murder)
  • Deandre "Big Dre" Smith (alleged passenger who refused the gun)
  • Michael Sanft (Davis's defense lawyer)
  • The jury hearing the case
  • Los Angeles Police detectives Daryn Dupree and Greg Kading (who conducted the 2008 interview)

What action is being taken

  • Davis is on trial in Las Vegas facing one count of murder with a deadly weapon
  • Prosecutors are presenting evidence including the 2008 police interview recording and excerpts from Davis's 2019 memoir
  • Davis's defense lawyer is arguing that his client's statements cannot be believed and is challenging the reliability of prosecution witnesses and the police investigation

Why it matters

  • This case represents a potential resolution to one of the most infamous unsolved murders in music history that has captivated public attention for three decades. The trial tests the legal boundaries of using a defendant's own statements made under what he believed was immunity, particularly when those statements were later publicized in a commercial memoir. The case also examines whether someone can be held criminally responsible for orchestrating and facilitating a murder even if they did not personally fire the weapon.

What's next

  • No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: BBC