Duane Davis trial for Tupac Shakur murder begins Aug 10, 2026

Nearly three decades after the fatal drive-by shooting of rap icon Tupac Shakur, the first and only criminal trial in the case is set to begin in Las Vegas on Monday, August 10, 2026. Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, faces a single count of murder with a deadly weapon with the allegation that the crime was intended to promote a criminal gang. He has pleaded not guilty and has been jailed since his arrest in September 2023.

Prosecutors allege Davis orchestrated the September 7, 1996, attack as retaliation for a brawl hours earlier at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Following a Mike Tyson boxing match, Shakur and members of his entourage, including Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight, assaulted Davis's nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson. That night, Shakur, 25, was riding in a black BMW driven by Knight when a white Cadillac pulled alongside at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip and opened fire. Shakur was struck multiple times and died six days later. Knight survived with minor injuries.

The investigation remained cold for over two decades until Davis's own public statements revived it. The prosecution's case hinges largely on Davis's 2019 memoir, "Compton Street Legend,"...