During an investigation into the murder of rapper Christoper Wallace, known as Biggie Smalls, an investigator says Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis admitted to being involved in rapper Tupac Shakur’s murder.
Keefe D, whose legal name is Duane Davis, told Los Angeles investigators during a 2008 proffer that Diddy still wanted the South Side Crips for protection despite having trained security nearby. Davis placed that security arrangement after Jai “Big Jake” Robles was fatally shot outside an Atlanta nightclub in September 1995. The Los Angeles Times later reported investigators saw Robles’ killing as the event that pushed the Bad Boy-Death Row dispute toward bloodshed. Keefe D reached trial through an LAPD investigation that originally focused on Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace’s 1997 murder. During his 2008 session, Davis denied involvement in Biggie’s death but began describing what he claimed happened to Tupac.
On July 28, Judge Carli Kierny cleared the 2008 recording for trial over defense objections tied to Davis’ cooperation deal. After more public interviews and his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, Davis was taken into custody in Nevada during September 2023. Prosecutors say Davis organized retaliation after Tupac and others attacked his nephew Orlando Anderson following the Mike Tyson fight at MGM Grand. His defense says Davis exaggerated his role for money and attention, while prosecutors are using his recorded statements and book against him. His plea remains not guilty, and a conviction could leave Keefe D serving life under Nevada’s murder charge tied to gang activity. Proceedings could stretch across roughly four weeks while prosecutors continue presenting witnesses in Clark County District Court.