Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was fatally shot on the Las Vegas Strip, a jury is finally hearing evidence in the murder case.
The trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis began Monday, August 17, 2026, in Las Vegas, with prosecutors and the defense presenting dramatically different versions of what Davis’s own words mean.
Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty. He is not accused of personally firing the shots that killed Tupac. Instead, prosecutors allege that Davis helped organize the attack and supplied the gun used in the shooting.
PROSECUTION: THIS WAS REVENGE
Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal presented the September 7, 1996 shooting as an act of retaliation.
Hours before Tupac was shot, Tupac and members of his entourage were involved in an altercation with Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, Davis’s nephew, inside the MGM Grand.
Prosecutors contend that Davis responded to the beating by helping organize a search for Tupac and Suge Knight.
The state’s case is unusual because some of its most important evidence may come from Davis himself.
Over the years, Davis discussed the night Tupac was shot in interviews, conversations with investigators and his 2019 memoir Compton Street Legend. Prosecutors intend to use those statements to argue that Davis admitted his participation in the events leading to the shooting.
The prosecution does not have to prove that Davis personally pulled the trigger to pursue its theory that he was criminally responsible for the killing.
DEFENSE: KEFFE D WAS SELLING A STORY
Defense attorney Michael Sanft attacked the reliability of Davis’s previous statements.
The defense’s position is essentially that Davis’s storytelling should not be confused with proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sanft argued that Davis embellished or fabricated stories about Tupac’s murder for attention and financial benefit.
That sets up what could become the central question of the trial:
Were Keffe D’s statements genuine admissions—or exaggerated stories that prosecutors are now treating as confessions?
The defense also emphasized problems created by the age of the case, including missing evidence, unavailable witnesses and questions surrounding the original investigation.
FIRST WITNESS: FORMER LVMPD OFFICER GARRY DALE
The prosecution’s first witness was retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer Garry Dale.
Dale testified that he was working with LVMPD’s bike team on September 7, 1996.
Before the shooting, Dale said he stopped the black BMW carrying Tupac and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight because the vehicle did not have a visible license plate.
According to Dale, he told them to put the license plate back on the vehicle and allowed them to leave.
He did not write a report about the encounter.
Later that night, Dale heard the shots-fired call and responded.
Tupac had been shot multiple times while riding in the passenger seat of Knight’s BMW.
Dale testified that Knight was demanding that officers help Tupac.
The officer then accompanied the wounded rapper in the ambulance.
WHAT DID TUPAC SAY?
Dale’s testimony produced one of Day 1’s most striking moments.
He testified that Tupac was still capable of speaking after the shooting.
Dale said he asked Tupac who was responsible.
According to Dale, Tupac responded:
“No, we’ll take care of it.”
Dale testified that Tupac repeated the response.
The testimony provides jurors with an account of Tupac’s condition immediately after the shooting while also illustrating one of the difficulties investigators faced from the beginning.
SECOND WITNESS
The prosecution next called Ingrid Stokes, whose last name was Johnson in 1996.
Her appearance moved the state’s case from opening arguments into the process of reconstructing the events surrounding the shooting through witnesses who were in Las Vegas that night.
WHY DAY 1 MATTERS
Day 1 revealed the battlefield for this entire trial.
The prosecution wants jurors to believe that Keffe D repeatedly told the truth about his involvement when he thought he would never face prosecution.
The defense wants jurors to believe the opposite: that Davis became a storyteller who exaggerated his connection to one of the most infamous murders in music history.
That distinction is enormous.
A man bragging about a notorious crime is one thing.
Proving beyond a reasonable doubt that he participated in that crime is another.
After nearly three decades of rumors, documentaries, interviews, books and conspiracy theories surrounding Tupac’s murder, a jury will now have to separate the mythology from admissible evidence.
And for Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the words he has spoken about Tupac’s murder for years may ultimately become some of the most important evidence against him.
The Diamond K Show will continue following NV v. Duane Davis as testimony unfolds.
