NEW evidence has been uncovered in the high-profile murder trial of Duane “Keefe D” Davis that allegedly places him in Las Vegas on the night rap icon Tupac Shakur was murdered.
The self-proclaimed Compton Crip ganglord, 60, has been in custody since September on $750,000 bail.
Prosecutors have unearthed new evidence that allegedly placed Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis in Las Vegas on the night of Tupac’s murderGetty
GettyTupac was killed in a drive-by shooting on September 7, 1996[/caption]
Getty – ContributorTupac was riding in the passenger seat of a BMW when a car pulled up next to him and opened fire[/caption]
The US SunCourt documents show that a room at the then-Monte Carlo Resort was booked under Duane Davis’ wife’s name, Paula Clemons (pictured)[/caption]
A Las Vegas judge denied Davis’ release in June after the jailed gangster was able to secure the $750,000 bond to be freed while he awaits trial.
Now, prosecutors said they’ve uncovered decades-old evidence that places Davis in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, the night Tupac was killed in a drive-by shooting.
Investigators said a room at the then-Monte Carlo Resort, now Park MGM, was booked under Davis’ wife’s name, Paula Clemons, according to court documents obtained by The U.S. Sun.
Officials also learned that a room at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino was reserved under Davis’ nephew’s name, Orlando Anderson, the suspected triggerman who fired the fatal shots at Tupac.
Las Vegas Metro Police detectives were combing through hotel records for reservations booked under the names of known gang members, court documents read.
However, Clemons’ reservations did not raise eyebrows until now since she was not a known Southside Crip, according to court docs.
Davis’ lawyers previously argued in their motion to dismiss the charges that there was no evidence that placed him in Las Vegas on the night of the murder.
BACK IN TIME
A legal insider in Las Vegas disclosed to The U.S. Sun on Wednesday that prosecutors were scouring through any paperwork or surveillance footage from the Monte Carlo Hotel.
The source said investigators knew Davis had stayed at the resort many times in the past.
“They are liaising with staff to search through guest booking records to establish whether there is evidence that Keefe or any of his Crip associated were booked in,” the insider said.
The legal insider said investigators are treating the case like it “happened in 2024 – not 28 years ago.”
“They even looked at receipts at bars and restaurants on-site to see whether his name is anywhere in sight.
“These were the days before many places operated digital systems, so there is so many hours involved in looking at old paperwork.
“It has been challenging to locate surveillance footage from the 1990s. Cameras from the Monte Carlo, MGM, and other spots were never properly logged or examined, so that process is laborious.
“But the DA knows that a couple of seconds is enough to be a home run for the prosecution.”
The source said prosecutors have reexamined the original homicide files with a fresh set of eyes and have interviewed every person named in the files.
“Those probes have led to some fresh leads and opportunities to speak with potential new witnesses, who have never come forward to police,” the insider added.
“Conversations are ongoing with several people who have connections to Keefe and his gang. What emerges from that remains secret at the moment.”
Why it’s taken so long for justice in the Tupac Shakur case
By The Sun’s Senior Reporter Emma Parry, who has been reporting on the Tupac murder for the past 10 years.
TUPAC fans have been waiting for justice for the iconic rapper for almost 28 years.
Finally in September 2023 there appeared to be progress with the arrest of Duane “Keefe D” Davis – a former Southside Crip gangster from Compton, LA – who had been telling the world for years that he and his fellow “gang soldiers” were responsible for the hit.
I’ve been reporting on the case for several years and it always appeared pretty cut and dry…Keefe had spent the past decade gaining notoriety by boasting about his alleged involvement in the shooting – now he was finally getting what he deserves. But despite Keefe running his mouth for years, I now believe a guilty verdict in November’s trial is far from guaranteed.
Keefe describes in great detail in his memoir Compton Street Legend what went down the night Pac was shot, extracts from which The U.S. Sun has published.
He claimed that he was offered a million dollars by rapper Diddy to “handle” Tupac and Suge Knight and when he and his Crip gangsters came across the pair driving near the Strip in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, Keefe alleged he passed the gun to his nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson who took the shot. Keefe said if Pac had been on his side: “I would have blast”.
Keefe repeated the claims multiple times over the years, on YouTube channels, documentaries, and even in taped confessions to police, when he believed he could not be prosecuted. In one confession to the LAPD, Keefe appeared completely remorseless telling detectives: “We didn’t give a f**k…The ambulance [for Tupac] was parked right here next to us. That s**t was as funny as a motherf**ker.”
The Sun has been publishing stories about Keefe’s self confessed involvement in the crime since 2018.
I sent many links to his confessions to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, asking them why this man had not been arrested yet. They would thank me for the info but say that they could not comment because the case was still active. From the outside, it looked like no action was being taken at all.
We spoke to former detectives involved in the case and documentary makers who all felt utterly frustrated at the lack of progress in the case. We even published a plea from former LAPD detective Greg Kading, who had probed the murders, urging Las Vegas cops to arrest Keefe, back in 2020.
For years, the case appeared to have been forgotten and ignored, to be left forever unsolved.
But finally, in the summer of 2023, we got word from our sources that there had been a huge development in the case. A secret grand jury was due to be held on whether or not Keefe should be indicted. I was dubious at first but around the same time a house in Henderson, Nevada, linked to Keefe, was raided in July as part of the Tupac investigation.
Things were heating up.
Later that summer, behind closed doors, jurors listened to hours of testimony from former cops, detectives, and coroners involved in the Tupac case and gangsters and associates of Keefe’s and Pac’s from back in the day. They were shown graphic photos of Tupac’s bullet-ridden body. After days of evidence, they decided there was enough evidence to prosecute Keefe.
Once the secret documents were released I poured over the transcripts. While interesting, many of the witnesses were telling stories they’d heard second-hand. None of the prosecution witnesses had a clear look at who shot Pac. One witness Devonta Lee claimed another gangster called Big Dre took the shot – not Orlando. Maybe things weren’t as clear-cut as I first thought.
Keefe was then arrested on September 30, 2023 at his home. Bodycam footage we obtained from the scene showed Keefe bragging to cops even as he was handcuffed in the back of a police car – telling officers he was involved in the “biggest case in Las Vegas history”.
Following Keefe’s multiple appearances in court, he seems to have lost much of that bravado and now cuts a sad, lonely figure.
Suffering from various health problems as a result of cancer, he’s struggling to cope with the brutalities of jail life and can’t get together enough money to afford his bail. He feels some of his old Southside Crip associates – men he handed wads of cash to in his glory days, have just abandoned him.
Keefe is now desperate to get out of jail, and his defense stems is leaning on his claim that he completely made up his involvement in the Tupac murder for fame and money. He saw other people cashing in on the murder so he thought he would too. He reckons his confessions to police were all lies – he made it up because he was under a plea deal and thought it would help him beat his other charges.
And, according to his lawyer Carl Arnold, he wasn’t even in Las Vegas on the night of the shooting. Arnold remains convinced he will see his client walk free and their secret weapon could be former Death Row Records boss Suge.
As the only other person still alive from either car, Suge, currently in prison for a fatal hit and run, would be a key witness. Suge is the only person still alive who knows what went down – he saw the shooter. While he’s said he won’t testify at the November trial, Suge has claimed in a TMZ interview from prison that Orlando was not the shooter, which again throws into doubt Keefe’s version of events.
Keefe and his lawyer are hoping they might be able to change his mind and persuade him to testify for the defense. And Suge holds the power to blow the prosecution’s case apart.
And if Keefe walks free, will there ever be justice for Pac?
KEEFE D BOND DENIED
In late June, Davis’ defense attorney fought to have Judge Carli Kierny validate the defendant’s $112,500 bond premium so he could be released on house arrest while he awaited trial.
However, Kierny ruled that Davis failed to prove his bond was obtained through legal sources.
Music executive Cash Jones, who goes by Wack100, appeared in court via video conference and confirmed he paid the bond premium for Davis as a “gift.”
Jones claimed that there was no contract or financial agreement with Davis in exchange for bailing him out.
But, prosecutors ripped the claims when they played a YouTube interview of Jones and podcaster VladTV, where he said he would bail out Davis to do a TV series on his life.
Prosecutors also played jailhouse phone calls between Davis and Jones, where they were heard discussing a contract.
“You got to remember this s**t can set you up for the rest of your life,” Jones is heard saying on the call.
“I will get you out, and then we’ll sit down and talk about all that.”
Judge Kierny moved to deny Davis’ bail request.
“While Mr. Jones testified he was bonding out Mr. Davis because Mr. Davis was fighting cancer and had been a pillar of the community, his previous interview with VladTV suggested another motive,” the judge wrote in her ruling.
Davis has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
He is expected to go on trial for Tupac’s murder on November 4.
Davis is facing life in prison if convicted.
GettyDuane Davis’ bail application was denied by a judge last month[/caption]
GettyTupac Shakur was 25 years old at the time of his death[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
