Three decades after the killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur, a former gang leader is finally standing trial in Las Vegas.
Tupac was shot on September 7, 1996 changing the world of hip-hop elevating the rapper from the face of the genre to a cultural icon. His killing became one of popular culture’s great mysteries, with countless theories but no arrests until 2023, when Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis was charged with murdering of the famous rapper.
Davis is also known to be leader of South Side Compton Crips, who also faces charges of murder with a deadly weapon, with the intent to promote further or assist a criminal gang and was accused of orchestrating the drive-by shooting that claimed Tupac’s life.
Prosecutors argue Davis acted as the ‘shot caller’ in the attack, pulling up gunfire on Tupac who was riding a BMW, shooting him multiple times and died six days later at just 25 years old.
The shooting followed a violent altercation, when Tupac and Marion ‘Suge’ Knight co-founder of Death Row Records assaulted Davis’s nephew. Later, Davis supplied the gun and ordered retaliation, setting the stage for one of the most infamous murders in music history.
Davis pleaded not guilty and if convicted, he will face life in prison without parole. The Jury selectin in the case began on August 10, 2026 with opening arguments due to start on August 17.
The killing remained one of America’s most famous unsolved murders with no single explanation of why. Las Vegas police have said witnesses refused to so-operate, with members of Tupac’s said police treated them like suspects and failed to follow important leads.