Duane "Keffe D" Davis, who was convicted of murder on Monday for the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, has claimed he is innocent in a new interview.
The 63-year-old former Crips boss could spend the rest of his life behind bars after being found guilty of plotting the drive-by shooting that killed Shakur at age 25.
In a lengthy interview with The Hollywood Reporter this week, Davis insisted, "I'm a good man, man. I'm a good person. I'm not no f***ing killer."
He reportedly told the outlet he does not believe he will stay in prison. "I ain't worried. I'm getting out on an appeal. We already filed it before the trial even started. They violated my civil rights!" he said.
Judge Carli Kierny is set to sentence Davis, who is currently held at Clark County Detention Center, on October 13.
"I'm innocent, man. They got an innocent man sitting in jail. I've got two grandsons that are going to the pros in football. They're All-Americans, one of them is in high school. He has 25 scholarship offers, and the other one is in college. And when they get their millions, they're coming to get me out of here," Davis said.
Davis also said he has "nothing to say" to Shakur's family and that he "didn't like" how they looked at him inside the courtroom. As the guilty verdict was read in court, Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur, the rapper's sister, appeared to cry quietly, according to CNN.
The case prosecutors built against Davis
Prosecutors argued that Davis orchestrated the murder after Shakur's entourage attacked his nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, a few hours earlier at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas following a Mike Tyson fight. Davis allegedly supplied the weapon and set the shooting in motion, though he did not pull the trigger.
The prosecution pointed to a 2008 agreement Davis reached with federal investigators who were looking into the death of another rapper, Christopher Wallace, known as Biggie Smalls. Davis had been approached about the Wallace murder but instead spoke about the Shakur shooting. He allegedly believed the deal, known as a proffer, offered him immunity, but it did not shield him from future state murder charges.
Prosecutors said Davis was able to describe details of Shakur's murder that only a witness could provide, including the positions of the people inside the car used in the drive-by shooting and the gang fights that preceded Shakur's death. Davis also published a memoir, Compton Street Legend, in 2019, in which he described playing a role in Shakur's murder, a book that led to a renewed investigation into the 1996 killing.
What was said in closing arguments
In closing arguments on Monday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal described to jurors how Davis acquired a40-caliber handgun and "went hunting" for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight.
Palal acknowledged that Davis's accounts of the killing had evolved over the years but argued the differences reflected his changing motivations and his efforts to protect himself. One detail, Palal said, remained consistent: Davis repeatedly placed himself inside the white Cadillac from which the shots were fired. "The core facts remain. The material facts remain," Palal told jurors.
Davis's defense attorney, Michael Sanft, challenged jurors to identify any evidence outside his client's own statements that placed him in Las Vegas or inside the Cadillac on the night Shakur was shot. Sanft also noted the absence of surveillance footage, phone records or other evidence putting Davis in the city.
Davis has since said the published stories and interviews in which he took credit for Shakur's murder were fictionalized to avoid indictment on other charges and to make money.
Who Tupac Shakur was
Shakur, considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, was in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, and had stopped at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up beside him and shots were fired. He died six days later from his wounds.
Davis's sentencing before Judge Carli Kierny is scheduled for October 13.
