Duane “Keefe D” Davis, the man accused of involvement in the 1996 murder of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur, is seeking to have the charges against him dismissed due to what his legal team describes as an unjustified delay in prosecution.
On Monday, January 6, Keefe D’s attorney, Carl E.G. Arnold, filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that the nearly 30-year gap since Shakur’s fatal shooting in Las Vegas has violated his client’s constitutional rights. According to Arnold, the extensive delay has resulted in fading memories, the death or disappearance of key witnesses, and the destruction or loss of critical evidence.
Arnold claims authorities are relying on evidence the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department had in its possession as early as 2009, emphasizing that the case has been irreparably compromised. “The unjustified delay has caused irreparable harm to my client’s ability to receive a fair trial,” Arnold stated in the motion, as reported by ABC News.
The defense also highlights the lack of corroborating evidence beyond Keefe D’s own statements, which have been publicly available through interviews and his memoir. Arnold further argues that many witnesses are either deceased or incarcerated, making it impossible to corroborate key details.
Central to the motion is an alleged 2008 agreement between Davis and a joint federal-Los Angeles task force, which purportedly promised him immunity in exchange for information regarding Tupac Shakur’s murder. Arnold contends that the prosecution must honor this agreement and drop the charges.
“The State of Nevada was in possession of the facts leading to Mr. Davis’ arrest as far back as 2009,” Arnold argued, referencing Davis’ alleged admission that he was in the white Cadillac involved in the shooting and handed the weapon to the backseat passengers.
Davis was arrested in September 2023 after years of public admissions linking him to the case. He remains in custody and is scheduled to stand trial on March 17.
The court is set to review Keefe D’s motion to dismiss during a hearing on January 21.
This high-profile case has reignited public interest in Tupac Shakur’s unsolved murder, a tragedy that has long haunted the music industry and his global fanbase.
