Suspect indicted for 1996 murder of renowned rapper Tupac Shakur

By Darren Lyn

HOUSTON, United States (AA) - A grand jury in the state of Nevada indicted Duane "Keffe D" Davis on Friday for murder with a deadly weapon in the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson made the announcement hours after Davis, 60, was arrested early Friday while on a walk near his home in Henderson, about 16 miles (25 kilometers) south of Las Vegas.

"A Clark County grand jury has indicted Duane Keffe Davis with one count of open murder with use of a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement," said Wolfson.

"Today, justice will be served in the murder of Tupac Shakur," said Wolfson. "A lot of people have been waiting for this day. Tupac Shakur is a music legend and for a long time this community and worldwide have been wanting justice for Tupac."

Tupac was gunned down 27 years ago on Sept. 7, 1996, in a drive-by shooting near the MGM Grand Hotel and Caesars Palace.

He was riding in a black BMW driven by then-owner of his Death Row Records label, Marion "Suge" Knight, when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them, according to police records.

The gunman in the Cadillac pointed a semiautomatic pistol at Tupac firing several shots with four bullets striking the rapper. Tupac died Sept. 13 at the age of 25.

Shakur's murder went unsolved for nearly three decades with no one being arrested, even though local and federal law enforcement agencies conducted numerous investigations.

In July, however, investigators revived interest in the case after police seized evidence from the home of a gang member who said he was in the car when shots were fired at Tupac, according to court records.

Authorities subsequently issued a warrant to search Davis’ home in Henderson, where they seized materials connected to the shooting, including .40-caliber cartridges, computers, photos and a copy of a memoir Davis wrote, according to the warrant.

In that memoir, Davis said he was inside the Cadillac that pulled alongside the black BMW in which Tupac was riding when the rapper was shot.

Davis is believed to be the uncle of Orlando Anderson, who has long been suspected of being involved in Tupac's murder before being killed in a gang-related shooting in 1998.

Knight, who was driving Shakur when he was gunned down, is currently serving a prison sentence for manslaughter in an unrelated case.

Davis will make his initial court appearance in the next few days, according to Wolfson.