Keffe D’s conflicting Tupac accounts take center stage at trial

Former investigators testified Wednesday about contradictory statements made by the man accused of orchestrating the killing of Tupac Shakur to law‑enforcement officials regarding his involvement in the crime. Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, is on trial in connection with the 1996 drive‑by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip that led to the rapper’s death days later. Davis’s own statements are central to the case and prompted a renewed law‑enforcement effort to analyze the long‑unsolved slaying. Prosecutors played clips of those earlier remarks as part of their opening statement on Monday. Davis’s defense lawyer has taken the opposite approach, attacking his client’s credibility. Authorities allege Davis was the “shot‑caller” who devised the plan to exact revenge on Shakur and Death Row Records CEO Marion “Suge” Knight in retaliation for an assault by Shakur and his entourage against Davis’s nephew, Orlando Anderson, earlier that night at the MGM Grand. According to prosecutors, the Bloods‑associated Mob Piru gang had ties to Death Row Records, while the South Side Crips—of which prosecutors say Davis was a member—were linked to Bad Boy Records, a label owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs. **1998 interview** Former FBI Special Agent Wade Lee testified that investigators built a drug‑trafficking case against Davis. “He was indicted and arrested for selling 2 kilos of cocaine,” Lee said. Davis initially faced up to 10 years in prison, according to the agent. In 1998, law‑enforcement conducted a “proffer” agreement with Davis, a confidential interview in which a suspect is expected to tell the truth but will face no consequences for what they say in the pending case, Lee explained. Disclosure could lead to a lighter sentence. The goal was to learn what Davis knew about drug and gang activity in the Watts and Compton areas of Los Angeles. Federal authorities knew he was also a person of interest in Shakur’s killing, so they asked him about that as well, the former agent said. Davis reported being friendly with Knight before the beating of his nephew, according to a document displayed in court. He said in the interview that on the night of the killing, Knight and Blood members attacked Anderson because of a prior incident. In the aftermath, Davis, Anderson and their respective girlfriends returned to their room at the Excalibur and remained there for the rest of the night, Lee noted. Davis speculated that the killing might have been carried out by Compton police officers working for Knight, since Tupac was considering leaving Death Row, the former agent said. Knight, who was driving the white BMW occupied by him and Shakur at the time of the shooting, was grazed in the head by a bullet. Under cross‑examination from defense lawyer Michael Sanft, Lee acknowledged not following up on any allegations made by Davis, including his claims about Compton police involvement in Shakur’s shooting. There were multiple aspects to the probe into Shakur’s death, Lee said, and his focus was on gang and drug activity. **2008 interview** In an interview 10 years later, Davis told a markedly different story. Former Los Angeles Police Department Detective Daryn Dupree testified that he was part of a task force investigating the killing of rapper Christopher Wallace, better known as Biggie Smalls or the Notorious B.I.G. Everyone was a suspect, Dupree said. Investigators considered the possibility that the Crips were involved and the possibility that Wallace’s killing—who had been affiliated with Death Row Records rival Bad Boy Records—was payback for Shakur’s slaying, according to the former detective. The vehicle used in that shooting was an Impala, and Davis owned an Impala, Dupree said, adding later that he ultimately decided Davis had no involvement in Wallace’s murder. Authorities decided to use drug‑sale allegations to gain leverage over Davis. Records show Davis was tied to the sale of PCP and a kilo of cocaine. He was facing a federal life sentence, prosecutors previously said. Davis again chose to speak and, in 2008, participated in another confidential interview. He denied involvement in Wallace’s killing, Dupree said, but told authorities: “We did the other one.” That disclosure came as a surprise, the ex‑detective testified. “We didn’t ask him any questions about Tupac,” he said. “He talked about that on his own.” Davis said he handed a weapon to Deandrae “Dre” Smith, who sat in the back seat of the white Cadillac the group was driving, but that Smith was afraid to shoot, so Anderson—also in the back seat—committed the shooting, according to Dupree. Anderson was fatally shot in 1998. Smith died in 2004, the Associated Press has reported. The task force enlisted Davis as a confidential informant, attempting to verify his story. “Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs supposedly had given money to Zip Martin to give to Mr. Davis for payment of the Tupac murder,” Dupree said. Davis was sent to New York to meet with Martin, but Martin was ill and Davis was unable to renew their relationship. Dupree said Davis’s account of the shooting seemed truthful, because it placed the weapon in his nephew’s hand. “I didn’t think Mr. Davis was lying because he put the gun in his nephew’s hand,” he said.