Duane "Keffe D" Davis told detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur in a 1996 drive-by shooting. Jurors heard this testimony, which is part of the state's case against Davis, who has pleaded not guilty to orchestrating the killing. The interview with police was previously undisclosed and was meant to be confidential, but Davis' lawyer has claimed investigators failed to back up his client's statements with evidence. Davis had initially told the FBI that his nephew was not involved in Shakur's shooting, and also implicated others, including Marion "Suge" Knight and Sean "Diddy" Combs.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Duane "Keffe D" Davis is on trial for orchestrating the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas.
- On September 7, 1996, Tupac Shakur was involved in a fight with Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.
- Two and a half hours later, Shakur was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting from a white Cadillac.
- Prosecutors say Davis orchestrated the killing as an act of revenge for his nephew's beating by Tupac.
Testimony
- Dr. Lisa Gavin, a medical examiner, testified that Shakur's death was a homicide.
- Former Las Vegas police detective Dean O'Kelley described responding to the scene of the shooting and trying to protect the crime scene.
- James McDonald, an associate of Suge Knight, refused to answer questions about the beating of Orlando Anderson.
Duane "Keffe D" Davis has previously implicated his nephew in the killing. In a 2008 interview with detectives, Davis said that his nephew Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur.
Prosecutors have called Yusef Jah, Davis' ghostwriter, to testify about the book that helped authorities bring charges in the decades-old cold case.
Jurors heard audio of the 2008 interview between detectives and Duane "Keffe D" Davis. In the recording, Davis said that his nephew took the gun and started firing at Tupac Shakur's car.
Written for “Tupac Shakur Murder Trial” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.
Jurors hear 'Keffe D' say his nephew fired fatal shots at Tupac Shakur in 1996 drive-by shooting
LAS VEGAS — Jurors on Thursday heard Duane "Keffe D" Davis tell detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur.
Davis, who said in the interview that he was also in the car with Anderson, is accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of the 25-year-old hip-hop superstar in Las Vegas.
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he → hear → Vegas
Davis said the white Cadillac he and Anderson were riding in with two other men pulled up alongside a car with Shakur inside, along with hip-hop mogul and Death Row Records head Marion "Suge" Knight.
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he → say → Knight
"If we would have been on my side, I would have blasted," Davis said.
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Davis → blast → side
Instead, Knight's car was on the other side, so Davis passed his gun back to Deandre "Big Dre" Smith.
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Davis → pass → Smith
But Smith didn't want it, Davis said.
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Davis → want → it
Anderson, who was also in the back seat, took the weapon and started firing, Davis said.
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Davis → take → weapon
Jurors watched the screen as the transcript of the audio recording rolled.
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transcript → watch → recording
Some occasionally took notes.
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Some → take → notes
At the beginning of the audio interview, Davis and his attorney whispered to each other.
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Davis → whisper → other
Shakur's family sat still, occasionally looking at the screen or looking down to the floor.
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family → sit → floor
The room was quiet as Davis described the shooting.
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Davis → describe → shooting
It was the first time Davis directly discussed his involvement in the killing with authorities.
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Davis → discuss → authorities
Prosecutors told jurors in opening statements that they would lean heavily on Davis' own admissions in interviews with police and on podcasts, as well as the 2019 memoir he co-authored, "Compton Street Legend."
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he → tell → podcasts
He also previously told the FBI that his nephew was not involved in the 1996 shooting of Shakur, and speculated that Knight or Sean "Diddy" Combs were involved.
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Knight → tell → Shakur
Davis has pleaded not guilty.
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Davis → plead → ?
His lawyer has called the prosecution's narrative "fiction" and said Davis was "full of crap" when he told stories of his involvement, and that authorities knew it.
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authorities → call → it
He argued investigators failed to back up the statements his client made with evidence.
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client → argue → evidence
The Los Angeles police detectives had actually brought Davis in to talk about the 1997 shooting death of Shakur's archrival, the Notorious B.I.G.
Davis had briefly been one of the suspects in that still unsolved killing, but he was later discounted.
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he → bring → killing
"Everybody was a suspect at that time," Daryn Dupree, one of the detectives in the interview, said in court testimony Thursday.
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Dupree → say → testimony
The detectives tell Davis that their discussion is confidential.
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discussion → tell → Davis
"Nothing you say today can be used against you," said Greg Kading, the other detective conducting the interview who described it in a book a few years later.
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who → say → book
Some in the audience shook their heads when someone in the audio tells Davis that "nothing leaves this room."
Dupree adds, "If you don't say nothing, it's cool, but if you go out there and start talking …"
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you → shake → nothing
Prosecutors say Davis did in fact "go out there and start talking" a decade later when he told stories about the shooting in interviews and the memoir.
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he → say → interviews
They said that nullifies any agreement he had with law enforcement over this and other recorded conversations.
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he → say → this
Prosecutors allege Shakur was killed to avenge Shakur's entourage attacking Davis' nephew Anderson a few hours earlier at the MGM Grand after a Mike Tyson fight.
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entourage → allege → fight
Later in the evening, they were in the Cadillac and saw Shakur hanging out of a black BMW with people calling out "Tupac!"
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people → see → Tupac
Davis said that after Lane fired the shots, he thought Knight was dead.
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Knight → say → shots
Decades after his death, Shakur remains a cultural icon, and one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time.
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Shakur → remain → time
He died as his popularity was peaking and his film career as an actor was taking off.
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career → die → actor
His legend has only grown in the years since.
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legend → grow → years
