Will the murder of rap legend Tupac Shakur, committed in 1996 in Las Vegas, finally be solved? A former gang leader was indicted Friday in this case which has left an indelible mark on the world of hip-hop for nearly thirty years.
Police in this Nevada metropolis arrested Duane “Keffe D” Davis, former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, a Los Angeles gang, on Friday morning, authorities announced at a press conference. He has been charged with murder and a trial date is expected to be set soon.
Now aged 60, Mr. Davis had long admitted that he was in the white Cadillac from which the four bullets were fired that killed Tupac, at the age of 25. In a book published in 2019, the person concerned, however, assured that the shots had been fired from the rear of the vehicle while he was in the front.
Under American law, this indirect role does not prevent his indictment for murder.
Duane Davis “was the mastermind behind this group of individuals who committed this crime and he orchestrated the plan that was implemented” to carry it out, summarized Lieutenant Jason Johansson of the Las Vegas police.
“Under Nevada law, (…), you can be charged with a crime whether you were directly involved or whether you were an accomplice,” said Clark County Prosecutor Steve Wolfson.
Gang rivalries
During the press conference, the police retraced the rivalries between gangs which led to the events of the night of September 7, 1996, which was fatal to Tupac Shakur.
That evening in Las Vegas, the rapper attended a Mike Tyson boxing match, in the company of Suge Knight, the founder of his music label Death Row. In addition to his artistic role, the man is affiliated with the Mob Piru gang in Los Angeles, several members of which also witnessed the fight.
Or Mob Piru is an enemy gang of the South Side Compton Crips, led by Duane Davis.
After the fight, members of Death Row Records spotted Duane Davis’ nephew, Orlando Anderson, and began beating him up in the halls of the arena. Suge Knight is among those bearing the blows.
In the wake of this incident, “Duane Davis began hatching a plan to obtain a gun in order to get revenge on Suge Knight and Mr. Shakur,” Lieutenant Johansson explained. It was he who provided the weapon to the passengers in the back of the car from which Tupac was opened fire.
This timeline had been known for a long time but the police never had the necessary elements to initiate legal proceedings, the authorities explained.
Spectacular rebound
The publication of Mr. Davis’ memoirs and the various interviews he had previously given in 2018 enabled the spectacular rebound in the investigation.
The ex-gang leader is the last living witness to Tupac’s murder. By speaking publicly, he “provided his own set of statements that are entirely consistent with the evidence” gathered by investigators, according to Mr. Johansson.
The new elements prompted police to search his wife’s house in Nevada in June. An event which brought the matter back to the forefront.
Hip-hop legend, Tupac had become an essential artist on the American west coast after a career as brief as it was dazzling.
The rapper, behind the hits “California,” “Changes,” “Dear Mama” and “All Eyez On Me,” has sold 75 million albums.
Tupac had become a key figure in the famous rivalry between the west coast and east coast rap scenes of the United States. Although a native of New York, he embodied “West Coast” hip-hop after moving to California as a teenager with his family.
His murder was followed, six months later, by that of his east coast rival, Christopher “The Notorious BIG” Wallace.
Many have linked their deaths to the rivalry between their labels Death Row (based in Los Angeles) and Bad Boy Entertainment (New York) but music historians say this opposition was amplified for commercial reasons.
This article is originally published on arabnews.fr
