Duane “Keefe D” Davis, a 60-year-old former gang leader who was involved in the murder of famous American rapper, Tupac Amaru Shakur, known by his stage name 2Pac, pleaded not guilty in a US court on Thursday.
Davis was charged in September 2023, after the police alleged he planned the shooting with his late nephew identified as Orlando Anderson, following a fight with 2Pac in a casino.
Showing the hotel security footage from 7 September 1996, in which several men are seen kicking and punching the suspect’s late nephew, the police said this ultimately led to the retaliatory shooting of the singer as he was waiting in his car at a red light.
Shakur died six days later in the hospital at the age of 25.
But at a court hearing in Las Vegas on Thursday, Davis denied the charge of murder.
When District Judge Tierra Jones asked for his plea, Davis said “Not guilty.”
Speaking after the hearing, Clark County District Attorney, Steve Wolfson said “We talked about it, and I determined that it’s not a case in which we should seek the death penalty.
“The fact that the world is watching really doesn’t matter. What we care about is presenting the evidence to a jury, so that the jury can make the ultimate decision”, he said, according to the Review-Journal.
