Nearly three decades ago, Tupac Shakur was riding in a BMW driven by Death Row Records boss Marion “Suge” Knight.
Nearly three decades ago, Tupac Shakur was riding in a BMW driven by Death Row Records boss Marion “Suge” Knight. They passed the MGM Grand Hotel and Caesars Palace on their way to a new Las Vegas nightclub.
A white Cadillac pulled alongside the BMW. A gunman opened fire, mortally wounding Shakur.
The killing shocked the music world. But the lack of an arrest in the high-profile case gave way to decades of speculation and theories in books, news articles and documentaries about what happened — and why police could not crack the case.
Then on Friday, Las Vegas authorities charged Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 60, with murder. Davis has long acknowledged he was in the car that pulled alongside Shakur.
Authorities now claim that Davis masterminded the killing as an act of revenge over an escalating gang feud.
Here is what we know.
Many have wondered why the case was cold for so long, and police have been criticized for failing to make an arrest.
Ironically, authorities now say a break came thanks to Davis himself.
In his 2019 book, “Compton Street Legend,” Davis detailed those experiences and said he hid the Cadillac and the gun after the shooting and had the vehicle repaired and repainted before returning it to a rental car company.
Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference Friday that although detectives have had plenty of evidence in the case, Davis’ own admissions gave new life to the investigation in the last five years. “We knew at this time that this was likely the last time to take a run at this case to successfully solve this,” McMahill said.
Police searched Davis’ home in Henderson, Nev., in July using a warrant that allowed them to seize materials they said were connected to the shooting.
