A Nevada judge has ruled that a 2008 police interview with Duane "Keffe D" Davis can be used as evidence in his upcoming trial for the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.
The decision was made on July 28, 2026, by Judge Carli Kierny, who rejected the defense's motion to block the recording.
Davis, 63, faces life in prison without parole if convicted for orchestrating the fatal shooting of Shakur in Las Vegas.
The case, long considered one of the most notorious unsolved murders in the U. S.
, resurfaced after Davis publicly spoke about the crime, including in a memoir where he admitted to being present and supplying the weapon.
Defense attorney Michael Sanft argued that the 2008 interview was confidential and recorded without Davis' knowledge, with detectives allegedly promising it would not be used against him.
"I sang because they promised I would not be prosecuted," Davis wrote in his book "Compton Street Legend," as reported by NPR.
Sanft also claimed the statements in Davis' memoir were fictionalized for profit and publicity, insisting the charges should be dismissed.
"If they really done their job, he would not have been charged," Sanft told The U. S.
Sun, demanding an apology from prosecutors.
Prosecutors countered there was no legal basis to exclude the interview since Davis had publicly embraced and discussed the statements, including in media and his memoir.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Mark DiGiacomo said, "There is zero legal basis to ever exclude the 2008 recording and that the basis of their motion is- the recording itself not what he said," according to fox5vegas.
com.
Judge Kierny ruled the interview admissible, rejecting the defense's motion.
The interview has been referenced in former LAPD Detective Greg Kading's book "Murder Rap" and featured in documentaries.
Shakur was shot on September 7, 1996, while in a BMW stopped at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip.
A white Cadillac pulled alongside and opened fire. Shakur died six days later at age 25.
Marion "Suge" Knight, who was with him, survived with minor injuries.
According to prosecutors, Davis was in the Cadillac with three others, including his nephew Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson.
Anderson denied involvement before his death in 1998 from an unrelated shooting.
In the 2008 interview, Davis described how Anderson "popped them," referring to Shakur and Knight, but did not identify who fired the fatal shots.
Davis expressed regret in his memoir about cooperating with investigators, writing, "It kills me on the inside to know that I told them anything," as reported by NPR.
Jury selection is set to begin August 10, with Davis expected not to testify. His defense plans to challenge the prosecution's evidence directly.
