Judge delays arraignment for man charged in Tupac Shakur’s murder

Posted at 1:30 PM, October 19, 2023

LAS VEGAS (Scripps News Las Vegas) — A Clark County judge agreed to delay the arraignment of Duane “Keffe D” Davis once again on Thursday morning.

A man in blue jail issued clothing leans back in a chair in court

A judge delayed Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis’s arraignment at a court appearance on Oct. 19, 2023. (Pool/Court TV)

Duane Davis, known as “Keffe D,” appeared in Regional Justice Court for his arraignment on murder charges related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur. Attorney Ross Goodman, the son of former Las Vegas mayor and mob attorney Oscar Goodman, also appeared in court on Thursday to represent Davis during the hearing.

When asked by Judge Tierra Jones if he was Davis’ lawyer, he replied, “I’m not going to confirm that today.” He then requested a two-week continuance of Davis’ arraignment, which Judge Jones granted.

Davis is facing a homicide charge after being arrested outside his Henderson home earlier this month. During a press conference, Metro police pointed to numerous claims Davis made in his memoir and television interviews regarding the night of the shooting.

A man in a blue shirt stands in court, flanked by deputies

Duane “Keffe D” Davis is led into the courtroom at the Regional Justice Center on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in Las Vegas. Davis has been charged in the 1996 fatal drive-by shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

In 2018, Davis appeared in the BET documentary series “The Deathrow Chronicles,” saying he was in the car with the shooter. In his book, “Compton Street Legend,” Davis also claimed he and his friends were initially in Las Vegas to watch Mike Tyson fight.

Police would confirm in a news conference that Tupac Shakur was seen on surveillance footage earlier that night “kicking and punching” the man who would eventually pull the trigger, Davis’ nephew, Orlando Anderson. Police believe Davis planned the shooting in retaliation for his son’s beating.

That night, Shakur was shot multiple times while sitting in the passenger seat at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip in 1996. Suge Knight, the CEO of Shakur’s record label, Death Row Records, was in the driver’s seat. Knight is currently in prison for a 2015 fatal hit and run. He has refused to share with police any details on the shooting.

This story was originally published by Scripps News Las Vegas, an E.W. Scripps Company.