A Nevada judge ruled on Tuesday that a 2008 police interview with Duane “Keffe D” Davis can be admitted as evidence in his upcoming trial. Davis, 63, is charged with murder in connection with the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur and faces life in prison without parole if convicted.
The legal battle surrounding the upcoming trial for the killing of Tupac Shakur took a decisive turn when Judge Carli Kierny issued her ruling. Prosecutors secured a victory that allows them to introduce statements Davis made nearly two decades ago during a police interrogation. The decision arrives just weeks before the trial is scheduled to begin on August 10, bringing renewed focus to one of the most high-profile unsolved murders in American history.
The Admissibility of the 2008 Police Interview
Defense attorney Michael Sanft vigorously contested the introduction of the 2008 recording, arguing that his client spoke under the assurance of confidentiality. According to the defense, detectives explicitly promised Davis that his statements would not be used against him in any subsequent legal proceedings. I sang because they promised I would not be prosecuted,
Davis wrote in his memoir “Compton Street Legend.”
The court ultimately determined that the statements remained legally voluntary.
Prosecutors successfully argued that the legal landscape shifted dramatically when Davis chose to publish his memoir and discuss his alleged involvement publicly. Prosecutors maintained that once Davis opted to write his book and speak publicly about what happened, the interview was no longer inadmissible.
Memoir Disallowed Defense Claims of Fiction
The prosecution’s case relies on the book Compton Street Legend,
in which Davis stated that he was inside the white Cadillac used in the shooting and that he provided the weapon used to attack Shakur.
The defense attempted to bar the memoir from the courtroom, arguing that the text was fictionalized to make a profit and that it was impossible to verify which portions Davis actually authored. Judge Kierny dismissed this argument, ruling that Davis formally adopted the statements as his own by describing the book in interviews as the “real truth.”
In a parallel defense strategy, Sanft pursued an unsuccessful motion to dismiss all charges on First Amendment grounds, portraying his client’s public speech as protected. Davis maintains that his various admissions regarding his status as the shot-caller for the fatal shooting were lies intended solely to chase fame and fortune.
The 1996 Shooting and the Fallout
The underlying tragedy occurred on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas. Shakur was sitting in a vehicle with Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight when a white Cadillac pulled alongside them at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip. Gunfire erupted from the vehicle, striking Shakur multiple times. He succumbed to his injuries six days later, while Knight escaped with minor wounds.
Investigators quickly faced a stalled inquiry that stretched across decades. Although Davis was present in the vehicle alongside three others—including his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson—he remains the only individual connected to the event who is still alive. Anderson denied involvement at the time and died two years later in an unrelated Compton gang shooting.
For years, the case remained formally unsolved, though it circulated heavily through investigative literature and media projects. The 2008 police interview at the center of the recent ruling was previously utilized in former Los Angeles Police Department Detective Greg Kading’s book Murder Rap: The Untold Story of the Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur Murder Investigations.
Segments of the audio have also appeared in recent documentary programming, including “Sean Combs: The Reckoning.”
Trial Logistics and Legal Posturing
The trial is anticipated to last about four weeks.
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