Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, suspect in Tupac's murder, claims police search was unlawful
Tupac Shakur murder case, attorney weighs in
Las Vegas police have charged a man over the 1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur, 27 years after the rapper?s death. LiveNOW's Austin Westfall spoke about the charges against Duane "Keffe D" Davis with attorney Ken Belkin. More LiveNOW from FOX streaming video
Attorneys for Duane "Keffe D" Davis, the man accused of killing rap icon Tupac Shakur in 1996, are asking a judge to toss out any evidence police obtained when they raided his Nevada home during a nighttime search.
Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys Robert Draskovich and William Brown filed a motion this week on behalf of Davis, who was charged with first-degree murder in the drive-by shooting of Shakur off the Las Vegas Strip.
Evidence a ‘misleading portrait,’ lawyer says
What they're saying:
Davis' attorneys say the judge granted a rare nighttime search warrant based on a "misleading portrait" of Davis as a dangerous drug dealer.
They say Davis, an ex- gang leader from Southern California, left the narcotics trade in 2008 and began doing inspection work for oil refineries. He was a 60-year-old retired cancer survivor with adult children and grandchildren and had been living with his wife in Henderson for nine years when police searched his home.
Duane "Keffe D" Davis enters a courtroom in Clark County District Court for a trial readiness status check at the Regional Justice Center on June 17, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Davis was indicted on murder charges for his involvement in the killing o
"The court wasn’t told any of this," his attorneys wrote in court documents. "As a result, the court authorized a nighttime search based on a portrait of Davis that bore little resemblance to reality — a clearly erroneous factual determination, in other words."
The other side:
At the time of the search, Las Vegas police said executing the warrant under the cover of darkness would allow officers to surround and secure the residence, and that if Davis barricaded himself, the darkness would allow officers to evacuate the surrounding homes with the least exposure to residents.
RELATED: Tupac Shakur murder suspect files appeal with Nevada Supreme Court to dismiss charges
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department — which conducted the search and collected Davis' electronic devices, "purported marijuana" and tubs of photographs — declined to comment to The Associated Press on Friday.
Duane "Keffe D" Davis arrest
The backstory:
Davis was arrested in September 2023. He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and has sought to be released since shortly after his arrest.
His attorneys claim Davis’ arrest stems from false public statements Davis had made in which he claimed to be present in the white Cadillac from which Shakur was shot. They say he has never offered details that would firmly corroborate his presence in the car, and that he benefited from saying he was present. He dodged drug charges by telling the story in a proffer agreement, and he has made money by repeating it in documentaries and his 2019 book, according to his attorneys.
He sought to dismiss his murder charges in the Nevada Supreme Court, but in November his petition was denied.
The Source: This report includes information from The Associated Press.