This Friday, Sept 29, 2023, photo provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows Duane Keith Davis following his arrest outside his home in Henderson, Nev. Davis, known as "Keffe D," was indicted on a murder charge in the Sept. 7, 1996, killing of rap music icon Tupac Shakur. After 27 years, Davis became the first person arrested in one of hip-hop's most enduring mysteries. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via AP)
LAS VEGAS (AP) – The man charged with murder in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur had little to say when he was arrested outside Las Vegas. But Duane “Keffe D” Davis knew the gravity of it, according to police body camera footage released Friday.
“So what they got you for, man?” an officer out of the frame later asks Davis, 60, who is sitting handcuffed in a police car parked outside the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s headquarters.
“Biggest case in Las Vegas history,” Davis replied, recounting the date, “September 7th, 1996.”
Shakur was fatally shot that night.
“I ain’t worried about … I ain’t did (expletive),” Davis told the officer as his voice trails off.
Police and prosecutors allege Davis was the mastermind behind the drive-by shooting off the Las Vegas Strip. The four videos released Friday, totaling about an hour, show Davis arrested on Sept. 29 while walking near his home in an otherwise quiet neighborhood. In mid-July, police raided Davis’ home, renewing interest in hip-hop’s most enduring mystery.
Davis had been a long-known suspect in the case, and publicly admitted his role in the killing in interviews ahead of his 2019 tell-all memoir, “Compton Street Legend.”
The self-described gangster hasn’t yet entered a plea in the case, and he denied a request from The Associated Press for an interview from the jail where he’s being held without bond. His longtime lawyer in Los Angeles, Edi Faal, said he had no comment on Davis’ behalf.
The body camera videos show officers approaching Davis and calling out to him from across the street.
“Hey, Keffe, Metro Police. Come over here,” an officer said.
Davis, holding a water bottle, cooperated as he was patted down and handcuffed. Much of the conversation with police initially focused on Davis’ request for water.
Later, Davis told an officer that he moved to Las Vegas in January because his wife was working to open up Sprouts stores in the area. The audio is redacted when the officer asks Davis what he has been doing since the move.
In the footage, Davis and the officer talk about the effects of illegal drugs on people’s lives. Davis recalled the mid-July raid and peeking over a gate at the same time as a SWAT officer – and said his arrest Friday was much more low-key.
Later, as they drove on the freeway en route to police headquarters, Davis does not appear in the video but asks the officer if he was followed the previous night. The officer says no.
“So why you all didn’t bring the media?” Davis asks.
The officer asks why police would bring the media, and Davis replied “That’s what you all do.”
Police and prosecutors allege Davis orchestrated the killing of Shakur and provided his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, with the gun to do it. Anderson, who denied involvement in Shakur’s killing, died in 1998.
Davis’ first court appearance this week was cut short when he asked the judge for a postponement while he retains counsel. He’s due in court again Oct. 19.
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Antczak reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona, contributed.
