Tupac murder accused told police in 2008 his nephew fired fatal shots
A recording of the interview Duane Davis conducted with detectives was played to the jury.
Duane "Keffe D" Davis, currently on trial in Las Vegas, informed police in 2008 that his nephew was the one who fired the fatal shots that killed Tupac Shakur.
Davis is facing one count of murder with a deadly weapon in connection with the 1996 killing of the rap icon. On Thursday, jurors in Las Vegas heard a recording of a 2008 police interview with Davis.
In the interview, Davis, who is accused of orchestrating the murder, stated that he passed the gun used in the drive-by shooting to a passenger, who then handed it to his nephew, who subsequently opened fire on the rapper.
Prosecutors contend that while Davis did not personally fire the weapon that killed Shakur, he orchestrated the shooting and provided the deadly weapon to advance the criminal activities of the gang he co-led.
Davis, 63, has entered a plea of not guilty.
His attorney, Michael Sanft, has argued that his client's previous statements regarding his involvement should not be believed.
Shakur's murder remains a cold case that has captivated public interest for three decades.
Prosecutors allege that Davis planned the September 7, 1996, shooting after his nephew, Orlando Anderson, was involved in an altercation with Shakur in Las Vegas just hours earlier. They assert that Davis believed the assault on his nephew could not "go unanswered."
Key to the prosecution's case are Davis's testimonies from the previously confidential 2008 police interview and, later, from his 2019 co-authored memoir, *Compton Street Legend*.
On Thursday, prosecutors played the 2008 interview Davis conducted with Los Angeles Police detectives Daryn Dupree and Greg Kading, who were investigating the the death of another rapper, Chris Wallace, also known as The Notorious B.I.G.
Davis recounted the moment the Cadillac he was in as a passenger pulled alongside Shakur's vehicle.
"Yeah, if we would've been on my side, I would've blasted," Davis said, according to a transcript.
The transcript indicates that Davis stated in the interview that he handed his gun to Deandre "Big Dre" Smith, but Smith declined the weapon.
Anderson, who was also in the back seat, then took the weapon and began firing, Davis claimed.
Anderson had died a decade prior to the interview, having consistently denied any involvement in Shakur's murder.
Detective Kading informed Davis during the interview, in reference to a deal for his information: "Nothing you say today can be used against you."
However, prosecutors argue that any such agreement was nullified when Davis publicly shared his account in his memoir several years later.
The prosecutor stated that the book reveals Davis was "mad" after his nephew's fight with Shakur in a Las Vegas casino, with Davis writing: "Them jumping on my nephew gave us the ultimate green light to do something to their ass."
In the memoir, Davis claimed he was inside the vehicle when Tupac was shot and "tossed" the gun used to kill him into the backseat.
Davis has since distanced himself from the book, asserting that he did not write all of it and that portions were fictionalized to boost sales.
In the interview played in court, Davis stated that he repeatedly spoke with Sean "Diddy" Combs and discussed killing Shakur.
Detectives questioned Davis about meetings with Combs during Bad Boy Records tour stops in San Diego, Anaheim, Irvine, and Las Vegas.
"Which of those four is it when you talk to him about murdering Tupac?" Kading asked, according to a transcript presented in court, as reported by Reuters.
"It was really about both of them, yeah, either one of them," Davis responded.
"Tupac and Suge?" Kading asked, referring to Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight, who was with Shakur in the vehicle during the shooting.
"Yeah," Davis responded.
Representatives for Combs did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
However, Davis's lawyer, Sanft, earlier in the trial, asked jurors: "What facts do you have to support any of what Keffe D said in any of his interviews or the book?"
"You have to ask yourself the question: If I just say things, is that going to end up being one of those things where I'm going to be handed up for a murder by just repeating that fiction? I keep repeating that? The answer is no. You have to corroborate everything I say in order for it to be true. Otherwise, it's just that."
Sanft has also contended that prosecution witnesses were unreliable and that the police investigation was flawed.
A former Las Vegas homicide detective testified earlier this week that no witnesses had been able to identify the shooter.
Later, James "Mob James" McDonald, a former member of Shakur's entourage, gave evidence that even though he was not present at the shooting, those within Shakur's circle who were there that night quickly identified who was responsible.
"It was a gang war. People were getting hurt. People were being sought," he said. "Orlando (Anderson), him and certain other people were being sought because people wanted to kill them."