At a Glance
- Attorneys argue the nighttime search warrant in the 1996 Tupac Shakur murder case was unlawful.
- The defendant, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, is a retired cancer survivor, not a drug dealer.
- Davis was arrested in September 2023 and pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
- Why it matters: The case could influence how evidence is collected in high-profile trials.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, charged with the drive-by shooting that killed rap icon Tupac Shakur, has hired attorneys Robert Draskovich and William Brown to challenge evidence seized during a nighttime search. The lawyers claim the warrant was based on a misleading portrait of Davis as a dangerous drug dealer, which they say the court was not informed about. They argue the search should only have been carried out at night under exceptional circumstances.
Alleged Unlawful Search
The attorneys contend that the court relied on a “misleading portrait” of Davis to authorize the nighttime search, which should have required proof that evidence would disappear if officers waited until morning. They also point out that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department justified the darkness to allow officers to surround and secure the residence, but did not provide evidence that this was necessary.
- Duane “Keffe D” Davis – 60-year-old retired cancer survivor, former gang leader who left narcotics trade in 2008.
- Search warrant – executed at night in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas.
- Evidence seized – electronic devices, “purported marijuana,” and photographs.
Robert Draskovich & William Brown
> “The court wasn’t told any of this,”
Robert Draskovich & William Brown
> “Think of it this way: Shakur’s murder was essentially the entertainment world’s JFK assassination – endlessly dissected, mythologized, monetized – so it’s not hard to see why someone in Davis’s position might falsely place himself at the center of it all for personal gain,”
Background on Davis
Davis was arrested in September 2023 and pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. He has sought release since shortly after his arrest and attempted to dismiss the charges in the Nevada Supreme Court, but the petition was denied in November. The attorneys claim his arrest stemmed from false statements he made about being in the white Cadillac from which Shakur was shot; he has never provided corroborating details and has profited from repeating the story in documentaries and his 2019 book.
| Event | Date | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Arrest | September 2023 | Pleaded not guilty |
| Petition to dismiss | November 2023 | Denied by Nevada Supreme Court |
Key Takeaways
- Attorneys argue the nighttime search warrant was based on an inaccurate depiction of Davis.
- Davis is a retired cancer survivor, not a drug dealer, and has been living with his wife in Henderson for nine years.
- The case may set a precedent for how evidence is collected in high-profile murder trials.
The motion underscores the importance of accurate evidence gathering, especially in cases that capture national attention.
