LAS VEGAS — An ailing and elderly former Los Angeles gang leader will persuade a Nevada judge on Tuesday to reconsider his decision, releasing him from prison and placing him under house arrest ahead of his trial in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ attorney, Carl Arnold, said in court papers that since a hearing last month in which the judge denied Davis’ release over questions about the legality of the money he sought to post in bail, he has produced financial documents showing the source was legal.
Arnold also argued that since Davis has not been convicted of a crime, it doesn’t matter whether Davis and Cash “Wack 100” Jones, a hip-hop musician who says he securing Davis’ $750,000 bailplanning to make a profit by selling Davis’ life story.
Nevada law prohibits convicted murderers from profiting from their crime.
Neither Arnold nor his spokesman, Xochitl Underwood, responded to emails seeking comment.
In court documents, prosecutors accuse Davis, 61, of “scheming to cover up the source” of the $112,500 “gift” that Jones, according to his testimony, offered as a 15 percent guarantee to secure Davis’ bail.
Jones, who has managed artists including Johnathan “Blueface” Porter and Jayceon “The Game” Taylor, testified in June that he was willing to pay the money for Davis because Davis had cancer and “had always been a monumental person in our community…especially in the urban community.”
Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny ruled that she was not convinced that Davis and Jones did not intend to make a profit. She also said she could not determine whether Jones was funneling money to a bond guarantee company on behalf of another, unnamed person.
Arnold argued in new court documents that Davis has not been convicted, so he cannot be prevented from making a profit. He further wrote that because Davis and Jones are not under contract for a “film, series or other form of media production,” concerns about the source of the bail money are “not legally relevant.”
Prosecutors countered that a judge can impose any condition deemed necessary to ensure a defendant returns to court for a trial. If Davis is allowed to post a “gift” for release, he would have no incentive to comply with court orders or appear for the trial, which is set to begin Nov. 4, they said.
Davis is originally from Compton, California, but now lives in Henderson, near Las Vegas. He has been trying to get out of prison since shortly after his arrest last September. He has pleaded not guilty for first-degree murder and could face life imprisonment if convicted.
Prosecutors say Davis’ own words, including those in his exposé 2019 book and in several interviews with police and the media, strong evidence that he is responsible for Shakur’s murder. They say they have testimonies from other people who corroborate Davis’ stories.
Authorities allege the killing was the result of competition between members of an East Coast Bloods gang and elements of a West Coast Crips gang, including Davis, to dominance in a musical genre known at the time as “gangsta rap.”
Shakur had five no. 1 albumsused to be nominated for six Grammy Awards and was included in the Rock in 2017 & Roll Hall of Fame. He died at age 25.