Police finally charged a man with the drive-by shooting murder of Tupac Shakur on Friday, 27 years after he was gunned down on the Las Vegas strip.
However, Tupac’s family and many close to the case have been vocal about why it took Las Vegas Police and prosecutors so long to arrest Duane “Keefe D” Davis.
The self-confessed South Side Compton Crips gang member has been in plain sight since, giving interviews where he freely admitted being in the white Cadillac which pulled up next to Tupac’s BMW at an intersection and opened fire.
His own words from his self-published 2019 memoir “Compton Street Legend” could end up going against him when the case goes to trial, as authorities say they will prove he was the ringleader and “shot caller” who ordered the hit on the “I Aint Mad At Cha” rapper.
The 60-year-old self-proclaimed “real gangster” was indicted in Vegas Friday for being the “shot caller” in the murder of the famous rapper, who was fatally shot on Sept. 7, 1996 in the Las Vegas Valley at the age of 25. Tupac would die in the hospital six days after the drive-by shooting. Getty Images
Davis, 60, details in the book how he was in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, to see Mike Tyson fight at MGM hotel.
After the match Tupac and then-Death Row records boss Marion ‘Suge’ Knight and their alleged gang, the Mob Piru Bloods, attacked his “beloved” nephew Orlando ‘Baby Lane’ Anderson at the hotel, an altercation which was caught on camera.
Davis and his crew were waiting at a different meeting spot and in the book he explains how some members of the “118 East Coast Crips” came running up to their group to inform them “some Death Row n—s jump on my nephew down by the casino.”
He wrote: “We couldn’t let no record company studio gangsters do us like that. They had lost their f—kin’ rappin’ ass minds?”
Duane “Keefe D” Davis, who has been accused of helping murder Tupac Shakur, gave his side of the story in a damning 2019 book. “I know the real f–king story,” he wrote. Getty Images
Davis says he had already agreed to help Tupac’s east coast rivals, including Puffy, a.k.a. Sean Combs, but says he didn’t go to Vegas with the intention of getting into trouble with Tupac. However, he added how after he “jumped” his nephew it became “ominously personal”.
While they were preparing to head to Club 662 wherre Tupac was set to perform, Davis says a man named Eric Von Zip pulled him into his Mercedes Benz and showed him a gun, reportedly telling the now-alleged murderer: “It’s time to get the money.”
Davis, Anderson and two other men waited in the back parking lot of the club for Tupac and his entourage to come outside. “There was no need for words; we all understood why we were there,” he wrote.
After Tupac didn’t show up for and hour and half, Davis ordered his men to leave and they went to a liquor store. At that point they happened across Tupac and Suge’s car, which they instantly recognized because the rapper was hanging out the passenger window as fans called his name.
Davis’ car pulled a U-turn and rolled up alongside the car. Davis claims he saw Tupac reach underneath into the car to grab a weapon and “that’s when the fireworks started.”
“One of my guys from the back seat grabbed the Glock and started bustin’ back,” Davis wrote in his book. “As the rounds continued flying, I ducked down so that I wouldn’t get hit.”
The murder allegedly came after Tupac and his gang beat up Davis’ nephew after the Mike Tyson fight. “We couldn’t let no record company studio gangsters do us like that. They had lost their f–kin’ rappin’ a– minds?” he wrote in his book. KingDoMedia
In other interviews Davis claimed Anderson, who was gunned down and died in 1998, had been the one who shot Tupac four times in the chest. Anderson denied involvement in Shakur’s murder and was never charged. The other two men in the car, Terrence Brown and DeAndre Smith are also now dead.
After the bullets stopped, Davis said their Cadillac took off and no one followed them.
“I don’t know why the Vegas police didn’t check Tupac’s hands for powder burns to see if he was shooting because the car we were in was shot the f—k up. I don’t understand why people act like Tupac was an angel,” Davis wrote.
Davis and his crew eventually ditched the car and while they were waiting to cross Las Vegas Boulevard, saw the ambulance carrying Tupac rush by.
After they found Tupac (middle) hanging out the passenger side of a car, driven by Suge Knight (left) they began firing at him. Davis claimed Tupac had reached for a gun prior to one of his people shooting at the rapper. The rapper would be taken to the hospital on Sept. 7 and died on Sept. 13. Alex J. Berliner/BEI/REX/Shutterstock
Tupac would die in hospital six days later on Sept. 13 fro, his injuries.
After watching the ambulances carrying the rapper and Suge to the hospital, Davis’ crew went back to the hotel to “pop our bottles and partied like it was any other night.”
“The moral of the story, real Gangsters, are nothing to f–k with!” Davis wrote.
“For us, Vegas was another day at the office. It may sound cold-heart[ed], but from a street perspective the killings of Tupac Shakur and [rival rapper] Biggie Smalls would be considered nothing more than collateral damage.”
However, Davis did admit he does have a “deep sense of remorse” for what happened to Tupac.
Davis was indicted on one count of open murder with use of deadly weapon.
He is expected to appear in court in the coming days to determine his custody status and trial date, Vegas authorities said at a press conference Friday.
Source link: https://nypost.com/2023/09/29/duane-keefe-d-davis-book-describes-tupac-shooting/