Attorneys in Tupac murder case battle over evidence days before trial

Arrested in 2023 over the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, former Compton gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis' trial is set to begin Monday.LAS VEGAS (CN) — Duane “Keffe D” Davis — facing a murder charge in the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur — is considering making bond.The revelation came Tuesday before Clark County Judge Carli Kierny, who heard arguments from attorneys about whether jurors in the 63-year-old’s upcoming trial should hear statements he made in 2008 to authorities.Shakur’s death, and the prosecution of Davis, has been the subject of numerous books and documentaries. In his own book, Davis said he was in a car with his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, when Anderson shot and killed Shakur near the Las Vegas Strip in 1996.Anderson denied involvement in the fatal shooting. He died in a 1998 shooting in Compton, California.Davis’ trial is set to begin Monday. His defense attorney, Michael Sanft, asked for a postponement as his client seeks to make bond. Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo objected.“He can post bail at any point and time,” the prosecutor said.The judge agreed, saying he could post his $750,000 bond while the trial is ongoing. It only becomes an issue once a jury reaches a verdict.The trial is expected to last four to five weeks. Davis has pleaded not guilty.Attorneys have battled in recent weeks over evidence in the case. On Monday, they focused on a 2008 statement he gave to Los Angeles law enforcement. Prosecutors want jurors to hear that statement, portions of which are included in a documentary made a decade after Davis sat with authorities.Kierny made no decision Tuesday, saying she’d issue a ruling later.Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal contrasted Davis’ case with comedian Bill Cosby, who two decades ago faced criminal accusations of sexual assault. The prosecutor in that case promised not to prosecute Cosby, which led Cosby’s attorneys to believe he couldn’t invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a civil deposition.The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned Cosby’s 2018 convictions in 2021. Cosby still faces civil litigation in states like Nevada.“That’s not what happened here,” Palal said of Davis’ 2008 statement.Davis also has made conflicting statements over time, at one point saying he wasn’t in Vegas when Shakur was shot. But that would make several other statements of his false, Palal said, including the 2008 discussion with authorities, BET’s “Death Row Chronicles” and Davis’ own book. In those three examples, Davis placed himself at the scene.Sanft argued his client only gave a statement — called a proffer — to law enforcement in 2008 because he was offered immunity from prosecution.“Just suppress it,” Sanft asked of the judge, arguing the 2008 statement shouldn’t reach jurors.Kierny appeared to question suppressing the statement, saying both the prosecution and defense’s cases stem from it.“It would be the proffer where everything starts,” she added.Davis’ case has twisted through the court system since his arrest in 2023. Accused of a 2024 jailhouse fight, Davis was convicted of misdemeanors and sentenced to 16 to 40 months in prison. He unsuccessfully appealed for a new trial over supposed juror misconduct.In June, Kierny ruled that jurors could hear about Davis’ time as a shot caller for the Southside Compton Crips in his book “Compton Street Legend.” The book, published in 2019, provides a firsthand account of the events leading up to the murders of Shakur in 1996 and Christopher Wallace, also known as The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, in 1997.Davis wrote in his book that he was promised immunity from prosecution when he told Los Angeles Police Department detectives what he knew about the killings of Shakur and Wallace in 2008. He also told Las Vegas police in another interview about his role in Shakur’s killing.DiGiacomo said then he knew of no nonprosecution agreement.Categories / Arts, Criminal, MediaSubscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads