Who Is Duane Davis, the Tupac Shakur Shooting Suspect Arrested 27 Years After the Drive-by Murder?

The Messenger has confirmed that on Sept. 29, Duane Davis, a.k.a. Keffe D, has been arrested in connection with the murder of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur. Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas 27 years ago, on Sept. 13, 1996.

A Nevada grand jury indicted Davis on one count of murder with a deadly weapon, Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo announced in court.

Back in July, Las Vegas police searched Davis' Henderson, Nevada home as "part of the ongoing Tupac Shakur homicide investigation," though they declined to offer further details at the time.

What did the 2023 investigation find?

The Associated Press reported that while searching the Davis' house in July, police obtained computers, a cellphone, a hard drive, a Vibe magazine featuring Shakur, several bullets, two "tubs" of photographs and a copy of Davis' memoir.

Who is Duane Davis?

Duane Keith "Keefe D" Davis is a known member of the California South Side Compton Crips gang. In the 2018 documentary Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G., Davis said he was in the car at the time of the shooting and knew the person who killed Shakur, but "street code" wouldn't allow him to share the name.

"I was a Compton kingpin, drug dealer, I'm the only one alive who can really tell you [the] story about the Tupac killing," he says in the film. "People have been pursuing me for 20 years. I'm coming out now because I have cancer, and I have nothing else to lose. All I care about now is the truth."

Who else was a suspect?

Davis' late nephew Orlando Anderson was named an early suspect, along with his uncle. Anderson was allegedly a Crips member, as well, and was involved in a fight with Shakur and his entourage hours before the shooting. Davis said Anderson fired the shots, according to leaked tapes. Anderson was killed in 1998 in an unrelated gang shooting.

When will Duane Davis appear in court?

Davis is currently in police custody and expected to appear in court next Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 8:30 a.m. at the Clark County Courthouse in Las Vegas. 

How did Tupac die?

Tupac was shot on Sept. 7, 1996, in Las Vegas while in the car with Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight, on their way to a nightclub following a Mike Tyson fight. A white Cadillac pulled up next to their vehicle while stopped at a stoplight, and a gunman fired 14 shots. Shakur died days later, on Sept. 13, 1996.