Jury Selection Begins in Murder Trial of Man Accused in 2Pac Killing
Decades after the rap legend was gunned down, Duane “Keffe D” Davis faces one charge of murder in the case.
American rapper, songwriter, and actor Tupac Shakur (1971-1996), poses for a portrait during the 1994 Source Awards on April 25, 1994 at the Paramount Theatre in New York, New York.
Photo by Bob Berg/Getty Images.
The man charged in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur is set to go on trial in Las Vegas. Jury selection begins Monday, August 10, in the trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63. Davis faces one charge of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in Shakur's death.
The trial will take place in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, with Judge Carli Kierny presiding. Jury selection is expected to last a few days before the prosecution and defense will give their respective opening statements and witness testimony will begin.
According to WGAL, a daily lottery will be held for seats in the courtroom for the public. A room on the second floor of the court will be open to the public and will show a live feed of the trial. Shakur’s brother, Mopreme, told CBS News that justice wasn’t a realistic goal in the case because the only resolution he would want is his stepbrother’s life back.
"That would be justice for me," he said. "But we all know that is unattainable."
The case of Shakur's killing has been unresolved for decades. But the argument from prosecutors is not that Davis was the gunman on that night in September 1996, but they will seek to prove that Davis made the calls that led to Shakur's death and provided the gun used to shoot the rap star.
Davis co-authored the memoir Compton Street Legend, which describes his exact role in the shooting. The book says that Davis obtained a handgun from an associate and tossed it into the back seat of the Cadillac. The book does not say who fired the fatal shots. Marion “Suge” Knight, who was famously shot and wounded in that 1996 attack, is listed on the prosecution’s witness list, but he previously told TMZ he would not testify in the trial.
“I mean, we've known about these details for so long,” investigative author Ben Westhoff told NPR. “He seems to have admitted so much of it, that I would think so. The only aspect is that a lot of what he's being charged with can't really be corroborated otherwise. There were three other men with him in the car that night, but all three of them are dead. And so it's just sort of his own story is all we really have to go on.”
