LAS VEGAS (AP) — One of the last living witnesses to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur has been arrested in the Las Vegas-area, a long-awaited breakthrough in a case that has frustrated investigators and fascinated the public ever since the hip-hop icon was gunned down on the Las Vegas Strip 27 years ago.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis was arrested early Friday morning on suspicion of murder, according to two officials with first-hand knowledge of the arrest. They requested anonymity ahead of an expected indictment later Friday.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Davis has an attorney who can comment on his behalf. Davis hasn’t responded to multiple phone and text messages from The Associated Press seeking comment or an interview in the more than two months since police served a search warrant at his his wife’s home in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson.
Police were looking for items “concerning the murder of Tupac Shakur, according to the warrant. They collected multiple computers, a cellphone and hard drive, a Vibe magazine that featured Shakur, several .40-caliber bullets, two “tubs containing photographs” and a copy of Davis’ memoir.
Davis has long been known to investigators. He admitted in interviews and in his 2019 tell-all memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” that he was in the Cadillac from which the gunfire erupted during the Sept. 7, 1996, drive-by shooting.
That night, Shakur was in a BMW driven by Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight in a convoy of about 10 cars. They were waiting at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them and gunfire erupted. Shakur was shot multiple times and died a week later at the age of 25.
The rapper’s death came as his fourth solo album, “All Eyez on Me,” remained on the charts, with some 5 million copies sold. Nominated six times for a Grammy Award, Shakur is still largely considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time.
In his memoir, Davis said he was in the front passenger seat of the Cadillac and had slipped the gun used in the killing into the backseat, from where he said the shots were fired.
For the full article, visit The Associated Press.
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11.24.2024