Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who was convicted of murder on Monday for the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, has claimed in a new interview that he is innocent.
The 63-year-old former Crips boss could spend the rest of his life behind bars after being found guilty of plotting the drive-by shooting that killed Shakur at the age of 25.
But in a long interview with The Hollywood Reporter this week, Davis insisted, “I’m a good man, man. I’m a good person. I’m not a fucking murderer.’
He reportedly told the newspaper that he does not believe he will remain in prison.
‘I’m not worried. I will appeal. We filed it before the process even started. They violated my civil rights!’ he was quoted.
Judge Carli Kierny will sentence Davis, who is currently incarcerated in the Clark County Detention Center, on October 13.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, who was convicted of murder Monday in the 1996 death of rapper Tupac Shakur, has maintained he is innocent; photo August 27
The former Crips boss could spend the rest of his life behind bars after being found guilty of plotting the drive-by shooting that killed Shakur at the age of 25; The rapper pictured on August 15, 2296, about a month before his death
“I’m innocent, man. They left an innocent man in jail. I have two grandsons who are going to the pros in football. They’re all Americans – one of them is in high school. He has 25 scholarship offers, and the other is in college. And when they get their millions, they’re coming to get me out of here,” Davis said.
Davis also added that he has “nothing to say” to the rapper’s family and that he “didn’t like” how they looked at him in court.
As the guilty verdict was read in court, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, Shakur’s sister, appeared to cry softly: CNN reports this.
Prosecutors argued that Davis orchestrated the music artist’s murder after Shakur’s entourage attacked his cousin, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, a few hours earlier at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas following a fight with Mike Tyson.
Davis allegedly supplied the gun and initiated the shooting that killed the hip-hop icon, but he did not pull the trigger.
The prosecutor pointed to a 2008 agreement Davis reached with federal investigators investigating the death of another rapper, Christopher Wallace, also known as Biggie Smalls.
Davis was approached about Wallace’s murder, but instead spoke about the Shakur shooting.
He reportedly believed in the deal, made an offer and was offered immunity, but was not protected from future prosecution on state murder charges.
Prosecutors said Davis was able to describe details of Shakur’s killing that only a witness could provide — including the positions of who was in the car used in the drive-by shooting and previous gang fights that led to Shakur’s death.
The suspect also published his memoir Compton Street Legend in 2019, in which he described his role in Shakur’s murder, leading to a renewed investigation into the 1996 murder.
In a lengthy interview with The Hollywood Reporter this week, Davis emphasized, “I’m a good man, man. I’m a good person. I’m not a fucking murderer; Pictured in court Monday amid closing arguments in his murder trial
Shakur, considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, was in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996 and stopped at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up next to him and shots were fired. He died of his wounds six days later; Pictured in 1996
A 1996 photo of Shakur (L) and Marion ‘Suge’ Knight was shown on screens during the closing arguments of the murder trial
A 1996 photo of the bullet-ridden black BMW Knight and Shakur were riding in at the time of the shooting was shown in court.
Davis has since said that published stories and interviews in which he took credit for Shakur’s murder were fictionalized to avoid indictment on other charges and to make money.
In closing arguments Monday, Chief Deputy Attorney Binu Palal described to jurors how Davis acquired a .40-caliber handgun and “went on the hunt” for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight.
Palal acknowledged that Davis’ accounts of the murder had evolved over the years, but argued that these differences reflected his changing motivations and efforts to protect himself.
He said one crucial detail remained consistent: Davis repeatedly placed himself in the white Cadillac from which the shots were fired. ‘The core facts remain. The material facts remain,” Palal said.
But Davis’ attorney Michael Sanft challenged jurors to identify evidence beyond his client’s own statements that placed him in Las Vegas or in the Cadillac the night Shakur was shot.
He also noted that there was no surveillance footage, phone records or other evidence that brought Davis into the city.
