Lawyers for the man accused of murdering the rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996 they pushed to suppress the evidence. The lawyers of Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis they said law enforcement officers obtained their evidence through “illegal searches at night.”
RELATED: Diddy’s Videographer Explains How Netflix Protected Documentary From Days Before His Arrest
Keffe D Fights Search That Led to His Arrest
Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys Robert Draskovich again William Brown filed a plea this week on behalf of their client, Keffe D. He was charged with shooting Tupac Shakur while driving on the Las Vegas Strip.
Keffe’s attorneys argued that the judge relied on a “misleading image” of Davis as a dangerous drug dealer to warrant the issuance of a search warrant at night. Night searches should only be done in exceptional circumstances. For example: if there is a danger that evidence will disappear if the officials wait until morning.
By the time the search warrant was issued, Keffe D had long since given up life on the streets, according to his lawyers. In fact, Duane Davis had left the drug trade in 2008 and started working as an oil refinery inspector, according to his lawyers. He was a 60 year old retired cancer survivor with grown children and grandchildren. Additionally, he lived with his wife in Henderson, a town outside of Las Vegas.
“The court was not told anything about this,” his lawyers wrote in the motion. “As a result, the court authorized a late-night search based on a photo of Davis that bore little resemblance to reality — a factually flawed decision, in other words.”
The Police Department declined to comment on the proposal
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department conducted an investigation and seized Duane Davis’ electronic equipment, “marijuana” and photo tubes. It declined to comment Friday, citing the pending litigation.
During the search, police said issuing a blackout warrant would allow officers to surround and secure the residence. They also argued that if Davis closed, the darkness would allow officers to evacuate surrounding homes with less exposure to residents. The police arrested Keffe D in September 2023.
Lawyers Say There Is No Evidence Davis Was in a White Cadillac
Duane Davis pleaded not guilty to murder and sought parole shortly after his arrest. His lawyers say Davis’ arrest stemmed from false statements made by Davis. In those statements, Keffe D said he was in the white Cadillac that shot Tupac Shakur. They said he never gave any information to confirm that he was in the car. In addition, they pointed out that he benefited from the fact that he was there.
“Think of it this way: Shakur’s assassination was essentially JFK’s assassination in the entertainment world — endlessly dissected, mythologized, monetized — so it’s not hard to see why someone in Davis’ position might find himself in the middle of it all for his own personal gain,” his lawyers wrote.
Keffe D avoided drug charges by telling a story about a provider deal. And, he made money by repeating it in documentaries and in his 2019 book, according to his lawyers. He tried to drop his murder charges in the Nevada Supreme Court, but in November his appeal was denied.
NEXT: Tupac Shakur’s Brother Mopreme Responds To Drake Using AI In His Latest Diss Track (LISTEN)
Associated Press writer Jessica Hill contributed to this report for AP Newsroom.
What do you think Roomies?
