Lead image for Detective: Tupac suspect's murder confession 'unverifiable'.
A former Las Vegas police detective told jurors on Thursday he could not corroborate the story of an ex-gang leader who said he was involved in the drive-by killing of Tupac Shakur but now denies being responsible for the shooting.
Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, is charged in Nevada's Clark County with a single count of murder using a deadly weapon. He has pleaded not guilty. Davis is accused of leading a group of men to kill Shakur, 25, who was one of rap's most commercially successful and influential artists, in a drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip.
Duane "Keffe D" Davis, confers with his attorney, Michael Sanft, during his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., August 27, 2026.
The case rests almost entirely on Davis' public and private statements that he was in the car with Shakur's killer and passed him the gun. Davis' lawyer, Michael Sanft, told jurors during opening statements these statements were mere bravado and could not be backed up with evidence.
On Thursday, Sanft called to the stand a former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department homicide detective who interviewed Davis in 2009. Dan Long said he believed what Davis said but conceded he could not verify his statements.
"I wasn't able to verify any of that," Long said.