Duane "Keffe D" Davis, the man accused of orchestrating the 1996 murder of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur, told police during a recorded 2008 interview that his nephew fired the fatal shots from the back seat of a car, according to reports from the BBC.
Davis, 63, is currently on trial in Las Vegas charged with one count of murder with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors contend that while Davis did not personally shoot Shakur, he provided the firearm and ordered the drive-by attack in retaliatory response to a casino fight involving his nephew, Orlando Anderson, hours earlier.
During court proceedings on Thursday, jurors heard a secret 2008 police recording conducted by Los Angeles Police Department detectives investigating the murder of Christopher Wallace, also known as The Notorious B.I.G.
In the recording, Davis described the moment their vehicle pulled alongside Shakur's car, stating he handed a gun to passenger Deandre "Big Dre" Smith, who declined it, before Anderson took the weapon and opened fire. Anderson, who denied involvement in the killing, died in 1998.
Detectives initially informed Davis that his 2008 statements would not be used against him. However, prosecutors argue that any immunity agreement was invalidated when Davis published his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, which detailed his involvement in the shooting.
Defense attorney Michael Sanft argued to jurors that Davis’s previous statements and book were embellished for financial gain and lacked corroborating physical evidence, describing his client as an unreliable narrator.
The trial also featured testimony from former gang associate James "Mob James" McDonald, who stated that word quickly spread within Shakur's inner circle following the shooting that Anderson was responsible, describing the incident as part of an escalating gang conflict.
Davis has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The trial continues in Las Vegas.
