DA says Tupac murder suspect was plotting to harm witnesses and should remain in jail
Prosecutors in Las Vegas filed court papers accusing the man charged in the killing of Tupac Shakur of discussing plans to potentially assassinate witnesses who might testify against him at trial.
From jailhouse interviews recorded by authorities, prosecutors said Thursday in court filings they learned that Duane "Keffe D" Davis poses "credible threats" to witnesses and that is one of several reasons Judge Carli Kierny should decline Davis' request to be released on bail until trial.
The Clark County District Attorney's Office, prosecuting Davis, alleges that the suspect was a feared gang member back in the 1990s and was the "shot caller" on the night in 1996 when Shakur was gunned down while in the passenger seat of a stopped car by the Vegas Strip. According to prosecutors, Davis is willing to play "shot caller" once again as he stands charged in connection with Tupac's murder and so he should remain locked up.
Davis' "credible threats to witnesses demonstrate both a consciousness of guilt," and that he "poses a danger to the community," prosecutors said.
The prosecution's 180-page court filing comes in response to Davis' motion requesting to be released on bail to house arrest, pending trial. Davis has been held without bail in the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas since his arrest on Sept. 29. His trial date is set for June 3, 2024.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Lawyers for Davis are scheduled to argue for his release on bail Tuesday morning.
Shakur was killed in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting on Sept. 7, 1996 -- a crime that had become one of the most infamous unsolved murders in modern American history. Despite much speculation that Shakur's shooting had been spurred by gang rivalry, until Davis' arrest, no charges had ever been filed, and the case remained cold for nearly 30 years. Prosecutors allege though Davis did not pull the trigger, he was in the shooter's car on that night and orchestrated Shakur's death.
In their latest filing, prosecutors focused on Davis' alleged jailhouse phone calls, some of which they say centered on witnesses in the murder case – and, they say, so has his "ire."
As part of their pretrial preparations, prosecutors said they provided the public defender's office a list of names that included witnesses cooperating with the DA's office as well as known gang members. That type of disclosure is typical because criminal defendants have the right to challenge witnesses who testify against them.
But in this case, prosecutors say that a member of the public defender's staff who is not assigned to Davis' defense gave the list to Davis – and also either gave it to Davis' son, or Davis himself passed it along – and that list was "distributed for what can only be surmised as a means of dissuasion," they said.
During an Oct. 9 call between Davis and his son, prosecutors said the pair discussed an "authorization to kill," which made authorities so concerned for the safety of one of their witnesses that they decided to relocate him.
"I got something to tell you about some s--- that's going on," prosecutors quote Davis' son telling his father on the call.
"What?" Davis asked. His son, according to prosecutors, replied, "Around the city, they talking about it's a green light on our side."
Prosecutors said in their filing that "In [Davis'] world, a 'green light' is an authorization to kill. This caused enough concern that the Federal Government stepped in and provided resources to at least [one witness] so he could change his residence."
In the lengthy court filing, prosecutors spent considerable time explaining how Davis' own words are perhaps some of their most powerful evidence in the Shakur case, which had grown to be one of the nation's best-known cold cases ever.
In addition to Davis' alleged jailhouse calls, what he has said in interviews over the years will serve as a critical part of the case against him, according to the DA's filing.
Davis "confessed over and over again that he is responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur. Now, finally, facing the consequences of his actions, [Davis] asks this Court to ignore his words," they said. "If one merely listens to [Davis'] words, coupled with the testimony elicited at the Grand Jury, the proof is evident and the presumption great that Duane 'Keffe D' Davis orchestrated the murder of Tupac Shakur."
Requests for comment from the public defender's office and district attorney were not immediately responded to.
In his memoir and in documentary and podcast interviews, Davis has "recounted his involvement" in the killing of the hip-hop legend, explaining that he provided the gun used to shoot Shakur, that he has "gleefully claimed responsibility for the murder of Shakur" in "numerous" interviews up until his arrest, prosecutors said.
In requesting bail, Davis' lawyers told the court that the suspect embellished the narrative for financial gain and "entertainment purposes."
Prosecutors said the court shouldn't buy that.
Davis "now claims that he is merely a prolific liar and not a murderer. The State submits that both can be true," they said – noting Davis' confessions were not only for TV, but also before law enforcement.
The "admixture" of his "multiple confessions" along with the corroborating eyewitness accounts collectively demonstrate Davis' role in Shakur's killing, prosecutors said. He "confessed over and over again that he is responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur. Now, finally, facing the consequences of his actions, [Davis] asks this Court to ignore his words," they said.
"Davis wanted the world to know what he did and what he was capable of," prosecutors said. "Now this Court knows, and accordingly, [Davis] must be held without bail.
