Book that Tupac Shakur murder suspect wrote cleared to be used during trial
A judge has ruled the book co-written by Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the man prosecutors allege ordered the murder of rap legend Tupac Shakur, can be used in the August trial.
Davis’ defense attorney worked to have the 2019 memoir “Compton Street Legend” barred from being used during the trial, which is set to begin Aug. 10.
Davis, 63, faces one charge of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in the 1996 drive-by shooting of the rapper in Las Vegas.
In addition to trying to have the book banned, Davis’ attorney worked to have the statements he had made to police in 2008 and 2009 barred too.
Shakur was in a black BMW on Sept. 7, 1996, in Las Vegas with Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight when a white Cadillac pulled up beside them at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip, and gunfire erupted.
Shakur was shot multiple times and died six days later, while Knight survived with minor injuries.
Shakur’s death is considered one of the most notorious unsolved murders in the United States.
The case had gone cold until Davis began making public statements about it, including in a book he co-wrote in which he said he was in the Cadillac and provided the weapon used to shoot Shakur.
The book revived detectives’ investigation, and Davis was arrested in September 2023. Davis pleaded not guilty.
The state’s case hinges on the book Davis co-authored about his time in the gang South Side Compton Crips and statements he made in YouTube interviews.
Michael Sanft, his attorney, argued that the book was fictionalized to make a profit, and that it was unclear which parts — if any — Davis actually wrote.
He also argued that statements Davis made to police in 2008 and 2009 should not be used in trial because Davis thought he had immunity due to a proffer agreement that allowed him to speak to detectives without being prosecuted.
Judge Carli Kierny determined that Davis adopted the statements in the book as his own, regardless if he wrote the whole book. She said he made multiple statements describing the book as the “real truth.”
She also denied the motion to bar the statements he gave to police from trial, saying that an attorney was present and that he was free to leave at any time when talking with law enforcement.
