Tupac Shakur murder trial opens as prosecutors say 'Keffe D' ordered 1996 killing

A trial is finally underway 30 years after rap artist Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting. The case was long regarded as one of the nation's most prominent cold cases. The murder trial over Tupac Shakur's 1996 killing opened with prosecutors arguing that Duane "Keffe D" Davis planned the shooting . Almost three decades after the drive-by shooting they opened their case by telling jurors the rapper was shot dead in an act of gang revenge masterminded by a mobster. “Let’s be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal said.

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Scoop News DeskNevada · Published Tuesday, August 18, 2026 at 6:55 AM UTCUpdated Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 2:34 AM UTC

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Representing Davis, attorney Michael Sanft called the prosecution's narrative "fiction" during the defense's opening statement. 1 dead — Tupac Shakur Davis, a one-time leader of the South Side Compton Crips gang, is charged in Clark County, Nevada, with a single count of murder using a deadly weapon.

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