The Aporia · Jurors hear 'Keffe D' say his nephew fired fatal shots at Tupac Shakur in 1996 drive-by shooting

Jurors hear 'Keffe D' say his nephew fired fatal shots at Tupac Shakur in 1996 drive-by shooting

Read the original at NPR ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

The Associated Press. (2026, August 21). Jurors hear 'Keffe D' say his nephew fired fatal shots at Tupac Shakur in 1996 drive-by shooting. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2026/08/21/nx-s1-5940538/jurors-hear-keffe-d-say-his-nephew-fired-fatal-shots-at-tupac-shakur-in-1996-drive-by-shooting

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Duane "Keffe D" Davis told detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur in a 1996 drive-by shooting. Jurors heard this testimony, which is part of the state's case against Davis, who has pleaded not guilty to orchestrating the killing. The interview with police was previously undisclosed and was meant to be confidential, but Davis' lawyer has claimed investigators failed to back up his client's statements with evidence. Davis had initially told the FBI that his nephew was not involved in Shakur's shooting, and also implicated others, including Marion "Suge" Knight and Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Written by AI on 2026-08-21, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, is charged with murder in the death of Tupac Shakur, who was killed in a drive-by shooting on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas.

The prosecution has presented evidence that Davis orchestrated the killing, including a 2008 interview where he told detectives that his nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, fired the shots that killed Shakur. In the interview, Davis said that Anderson was in the back seat of a white Cadillac with him and two other men, and that Anderson took a gun from Deandre "Big Dre" Smith and started firing.

Prosecutor Binu Palal has argued that Davis's actions were motivated by revenge for his nephew's beating at the hands of Shakur's entourage earlier that night. Palal showed jurors a picture of the Mike Tyson fight on September 7, 1996, and video of Shakur's entourage attacking Anderson.

Davis entered the courtroom in a blue suit and tie and scanned the audience before sitting next to his lawyer, Michael Sanft. Members of Shakur's family, including his stepbrother Maurice "Mopreme" Shakur, sat quietly in the front row behind prosecutors.

The defense has hinted that Davis's ghostwriter, Yusef Jah, fictionalized some details in their book about the crime, and that the defendant wasn't involved in the killing. However, prosecutors have Jah's name on their witness list and plan to ask him if he wrote the book based on what Davis told him.

One of the key witnesses for the prosecution is Yusef Jah, who helped bring charges against Davis through his book. Moses Castillo, a retired LAPD detective, suspects that the prosecution will call Jah as a witness and ask him directly if he wrote the book based on what Davis told him.

The defense has tried to downplay the importance of Jah's testimony, but Castillo believes it could be crucial in convicting Davis.

Tupac Shakur was murdered on September 7, 1996, after being involved in a fight with Orlando Anderson at the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas. Two and a half hours later, Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting from a white Cadillac.

The trial has been marked by dramatic testimony from various witnesses, including James McDonald, an associate of Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight, who refused to go into detail about the beating of Orlando Anderson at the MGM Hotel.

James Wright Jr, a former Compton police officer who later led security for Suge Knight’s Death Row Records, testified that he had nothing to do with Tupac's murder.

Written for “Tupac Murder Trial Proceedings” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

0 of 30 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

60/100

NPR's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Crime & Law

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-08-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

NPR · 1002 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)

2026-10-10

A year of ceasefire in Gaza through the lens of NPR's reporter

2026-10-01

COMIC: How the census gives your state power (and what Trump wants to change)

2026-08-31

Hit shows from Edinburgh's Fringe festival are coming to America. Here are our top picks

Who wrote this

The Associated Press

1729 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 “A beloved daughter, sister, wife, friend and inspiration to so many, she will be deeply missed.”

2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Ciara Mageean, former European 1,500 champion, dies at age 34

🔮 In an interview shared on his Telegram channel, Abbas Araghchi said Iran hoped the U.S. would choose “diplomacy over other paths.”

2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Iran's top diplomat hopes U.S. shows 'rationality,' and other Mideast news

🔮 Somali pirates have seized an Iranian fishing vessel carrying 23 people, the Maritime Security Center Indian Ocean said, warning that the ship was approaching a commercial shipping lane and could become a floating base for further attacks.

2026-11-01 · mixed framing · Somali pirates seize Iranian fishing vessel, raising fears of attacks on cargo ships

🔮 Swanwick looked he might get it back on the par-5 13th into the wind.

2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Fifa Laopakdee rallies to win Asia-Pacific Amateur again and heads back to Masters and British Open

🔮 Acting President Iliana Yotova — who would become Bulgaria’s first elected female president if she wins — faces opposition candidate and former interim Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov.

2026-11-01 · mixed framing · Bulgarians vote in a presidential runoff marked by regional security threats

🔮 Miyu Yamashita successfully defended her title at the LPGA Tour’s Maybank Championship on Sunday, beating China’s Yan Liu by two strokes.

2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Miyu Yamashita holds off Yan Liu to defend her LPGA Maybank Championship title

🔮 The letter bearing Trump's name includes text framed by the outline of what appears to be a hand-drawn naked woman and ends with, "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret," according to the newspaper. Trump denied writing it and called the story "false, malicious, and defamatory."

2026-11-01 · assertive framing · 'Grasping at straws': Judge dismisses Trump suit against Wall Street Journal over Epstein letter

🔮 Raynor was replaced in the second half of last Saturday’s 39-3 loss at Arizona, but coach Jimmy Rogers said this week he would remain as the starter.

2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Konrardy hits field goal as time expires to lift Iowa State past No. 24 Oklahoma State, 51-49

🔮 Ahmad Hardy, Missouri’s All-American running back who missed the first seven games of the season after being wounded in the leg during a shooting at an outdoor concert in May, returned to action in the win.

2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Austin Simmons leads No. 23 Missouri to 34-10 win over Arkansas

🔮 Holden Gernier passed for 180 yards and a touchdown for Pitt, numbers that would have been better if not for mistakes by some of his teammates.

2026-11-01 · assertive framing · Damon Ferguson Jr. runs for a season-high 185 yards and 2 TDs as Pitt drills Georgia Tech 34-11

Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.

Also by The Associated Press

New York marathon: Sweden's Almgren and Kenya's Chepkirui win as 60,000 take part

2026-11-01 · NPR

Ciara Mageean, former European 1,500 champion, dies at age 34

2026-11-01 · Toronto Star

Alcaraz beats De Minaur to win Vienna Open without dropping a set to clinch fourth title this year

2026-11-01 · Toronto Star

French protest violence eases and scattered riots hit Germany ahead of more action

2026-11-01 · Washington Examiner

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 1729 articles by The Associated Press →

Topics

Cadillac Death Row Records FBI LAS VEGAS Los Angeles

Subjects

Davis PERSON · 20× Shakur PERSON · 8× Anderson PERSON · 4× Knight PERSON · 3× Cadillac ORG · 2× LAS VEGAS GPE · 2× Tupac Shakur PERSON · 2× Duane "Keffe D" Davis PERSON · 1× Keffe D PERSON · 1× Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Jurors hear 'Keffe D' say his nephew fired fatal shots at Tupac Shakur in 1996 drive-by shooting LAS VEGAS — Jurors on Thursday heard Duane "Keffe D" Davis tell detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur. Davis, who said in the interview that he was also in the car with Anderson, is accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of the 25-year-old hip-hop superstar in Las Vegas.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-21

🔮 "If we would have been on my side, I would have blasted," Davis said.

2026-08-21 · NPR

Jurors hear 'Keffe D' say his nephew fired fatal shots at Tupac Shakur in 1996 drive-by shooting · assertive framing

Claims (30 extracted, 0 hedged)

he → hear → Vegas

Davis said the white Cadillac he and Anderson were riding in with two other men pulled up alongside a car with Shakur inside, along with hip-hop mogul and Death Row Records head Marion "Suge" Knight. asserted

he → say → Knight

"If we would have been on my side, I would have blasted," Davis said. asserted

Davis → blast → side

Instead, Knight's car was on the other side, so Davis passed his gun back to Deandre "Big Dre" Smith. asserted

Davis → pass → Smith

But Smith didn't want it, Davis said. asserted

Davis → want → it

Anderson, who was also in the back seat, took the weapon and started firing, Davis said. asserted

Davis → take → weapon

Jurors watched the screen as the transcript of the audio recording rolled. asserted

transcript → watch → recording

Some occasionally took notes. asserted

Some → take → notes

At the beginning of the audio interview, Davis and his attorney whispered to each other. asserted

Davis → whisper → other

Shakur's family sat still, occasionally looking at the screen or looking down to the floor. asserted

family → sit → floor

The room was quiet as Davis described the shooting. asserted

Davis → describe → shooting

It was the first time Davis directly discussed his involvement in the killing with authorities. asserted

Davis → discuss → authorities

Prosecutors told jurors in opening statements that they would lean heavily on Davis' own admissions in interviews with police and on podcasts, as well as the 2019 memoir he co-authored, "Compton Street Legend." asserted

he → tell → podcasts

He also previously told the FBI that his nephew was not involved in the 1996 shooting of Shakur, and speculated that Knight or Sean "Diddy" Combs were involved. asserted

Knight → tell → Shakur

Davis has pleaded not guilty. asserted

Davis → plead → ?

His lawyer has called the prosecution's narrative "fiction" and said Davis was "full of crap" when he told stories of his involvement, and that authorities knew it. asserted

authorities → call → it

He argued investigators failed to back up the statements his client made with evidence. asserted

client → argue → evidence

The Los Angeles police detectives had actually brought Davis in to talk about the 1997 shooting death of Shakur's archrival, the Notorious B.I.G. Davis had briefly been one of the suspects in that still unsolved killing, but he was later discounted. asserted

he → bring → killing

"Everybody was a suspect at that time," Daryn Dupree, one of the detectives in the interview, said in court testimony Thursday. asserted

Dupree → say → testimony

The detectives tell Davis that their discussion is confidential. asserted

discussion → tell → Davis

"Nothing you say today can be used against you," said Greg Kading, the other detective conducting the interview who described it in a book a few years later. asserted

who → say → book

Some in the audience shook their heads when someone in the audio tells Davis that "nothing leaves this room." Dupree adds, "If you don't say nothing, it's cool, but if you go out there and start talking …" asserted

you → shake → nothing

Prosecutors say Davis did in fact "go out there and start talking" a decade later when he told stories about the shooting in interviews and the memoir. asserted

he → say → interviews

They said that nullifies any agreement he had with law enforcement over this and other recorded conversations. asserted

he → say → this

Prosecutors allege Shakur was killed to avenge Shakur's entourage attacking Davis' nephew Anderson a few hours earlier at the MGM Grand after a Mike Tyson fight. asserted

entourage → allege → fight

Later in the evening, they were in the Cadillac and saw Shakur hanging out of a black BMW with people calling out "Tupac!" asserted

people → see → Tupac

Davis said that after Lane fired the shots, he thought Knight was dead. asserted

Knight → say → shots

Decades after his death, Shakur remains a cultural icon, and one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time. asserted

Shakur → remain → time

He died as his popularity was peaking and his film career as an actor was taking off. asserted

career → die → actor

His legend has only grown in the years since. asserted

legend → grow → years