Jury Seated in Tupac Shakur Murder Trial

LAS VEGAS — A jury has been selected in Las Vegas for the murder trial of Duane 'Keffe D' Davis. Prosecutors allege Davis ordered the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur. Opening statements in the case are scheduled to begin on Monday.

Authorities arrested Davis in September 2023. A grand jury in Clark County indicted him on a charge of murder with a deadly weapon. The indictment included a gang enhancement.

Shakur died on September 13, 1996, six days after a drive-by shooting on the Las Vegas Strip. He was 25 years old. The shooting occurred following a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino.

Davis has publicly stated his involvement in the events surrounding Shakur's death. He has claimed he was in the car from which the fatal shots were fired. He identified his nephew, Orlando Anderson, as one of the shooters.

Police interviewed Anderson at the time. He denied involvement and died in a separate shooting in 1998. Authorities have never charged anyone else in connection with Shakur's death.

Prosecutors stated in court filings that Davis's own statements, made in interviews and a 2019 memoir, provided evidence for the indictment. Davis wrote in his memoir, 'Compton Street Legend,' that he 'provided the gun' used in the shooting.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department detectives conducted a search warrant at Davis's home in Henderson, Nevada, in July 2023. They collected items including computers, hard drives, and photographs. Police also seized a copy of Davis's memoir.

The trial is taking place in Clark County District Court. Judge Tierra Jones presides over the proceedings.