The arraignment of Duane “Keefe D” Davis, the suspect charged in the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur, was postponed for a second time. ABC News reported that he appeared in Clark County Court today (Oct. 19) without confirmed legal representation.
Davis was arrested near his Las Vegas-area home on Sept. 29 and remains in custody. A grand jury indicted him last month on one count of open homicide using a deadly weapon, enhanced by a gang-related charge, nearly three decades after Shakur’s unsolved death.
Dressed in a blue jail jumpsuit and shackles, Davis stood as the hearing commenced this morning. The session ended almost as quickly as it began, the outlet noted. The attorney tentatively representing the 60-year-old told the judge that it remains unclear if he will officially take the case, requesting an additional two weeks to decide.
This marked Davis’ second appearance without a confirmed lawyer. Earlier this month, he told the judge that his legal counsel, absent from the court, required a delay of two weeks.
Shakur was gunned down on Sept. 7, 1996 near the Las Vegas Strip, dying six days later at age 25. The fatal shooting followed a brawl at the MGM Grand involving rival gangs from Compton, California: Mob Piru Bloods and South Side Compton Crips.
Authorities asserted Davis, who publicly admitted to being in the white Cadillac from which shots were fired, served as the Crips’ “shot caller” and authorized the hit on Shakur.
He’s the only living suspect in the long-cold case, which resurfaced in 2018. According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Lt. Jason Johansson, the investigation reignited due to his own admissions about his role in the homicide during various media interviews.
The arraignment is now slated for Nov. 2. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson emphasized the need for legal progression by stating, “We have to move this case forward.”