Former gang leader pleads not guilty in 1996 slaying of rap icon Shakur
LAS VEGAS — A former Southern California street gang leader pleaded not guilty Thursday to murder in the 1996 slaying of rap music icon Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas, a charge prompted by his own descriptions in recent years about orchestrating the deadly drive-by shooting.
Duane Keith “Keffe D” Davis is the only person still alive who was in the vehicle from which shots were fired and the only person ever charged with a crime in the case. In court on Thursday, Davis stood in shackles as he awaited proceedings and waved to his wife, son, and daughter in the packed spectator gallery.
“Not guilty,” Davis said when Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones asked for his plea.
The judge told Davis that prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty in the case, which could put Davis in prison for the rest of his life if he is convicted. Jones also named county special public defenders Robert Arroyo and Charles Cano to represent Davis at taxpayer expense, after Davis lost his bid to hire private defense attorney Ross Goodman.
Goodman two weeks ago said prosecutors lack witnesses and key evidence, including a gun or vehicle. Outside the courtroom on Thursday, Goodman said Davis was still trying to hire him.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson declined to respond to Goodman’s criticism of the evidence, saying that a jury will weigh the results of the police investigation.
In court, Davis wore dark-blue jail garb and answered several questions, telling the judge that he attended “a year in college,” wasn’t under the influence of drugs, medication, or alcohol, and he understood he is charged with murder. The judge set his next court date for Tuesday to schedule the trial.
The indictment alleges Davis obtained and provided a gun to someone in the back seat of a Cadillac before the car-to-car gunfire that mortally wounded Shakur and wounded rap music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight at an intersection just off the Las Vegas Strip. Shakur died a week later. He was 25.
Knight, now 58, is in prison in California, serving a 28-year sentence for the death of a Compton businessman in 2015.