Posted on: December 18, 2023, 07:40h.
Last updated on: December 18, 2023, 07:40h.
Lawyers for Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the 60-year-old self-described former gang leader arrested for orchestrating the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, have asked a judge to release him from jail pending trial, according to documents reviewed by KLAS-TV/Las Vegas on Monday.
In a new court filing, attorneys for Davis — who was arrested at his Las Vegas home on Sept. 29 after a grand jury indicted him for murder with the use of a deadly weapon — have asked that their client be released on his own recognizance with an ankle bracelet or have bail set no higher than $100K.
Several reasons were offered for this request, according to KLAS. The lawyers explained that Davis, who is in remission from colon cancer, is experiencing declining health caused by his incarceration. They explained that he neither a community threat nor a flight risk. And they said that their client’s self-incriminating statements about his role in Shakur’s murder, which he self-published in a 2019 book, were made for “entertainment purposes.”
In Compton Street Legend: Notorious Keffe D’s Street-Level Accounts of Tupac and Biggie Murders, Death Row Origins, Suge Knight, Puffy Combs, and Crooked Cops, Davis placed himself in the car with the assassin who shot the rap superstar on the corner of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane on Sept. 7, 1996. Shakur, 25, died six days later from his injuries.
Davis did not name the assassin.
Murder Was the Case That They Gave Me
The state claims that Davis orchestrated the drive-by shooting.
Davis has pleaded not guilty. In the new court filing, his attorneys wrote that prosecutors presented the grand jury with “an astounding amount of hearsay” from witnesses with questionable credibility, and that they “did not introduce any independent evidence connecting Duane Davis to the shooting,” other than what Davis wrote in the book and said in interviews promoting the book.
“The book and video interviews were produced for a financial benefit under the belief that Duane had immunity,” Davis’ lawyers wrote, referring to a offer that the Los Angeles Police Department made to Davis to cooperate with its investigation into the 1997 death of rapper Notorious B.I.G., which many people believe was committed in retaliation for Shakur’s murder.
Davis’ lawyers said he believed the immunity he received from LAPD also gave him immunity in the Las Vegas case.
Prosecutors have previously said that they would not seek the death penalty if Davis is found guilty. His next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 2.
