A judge in the United States has denied bail to the man accused in the 1996 Los Angeles murder of Tupac Shakur.
The ailing former Los Angeles gang leader, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, is the only person ever charged in connection with the drive-by shooting that claimed the hip-hop star’s life.
Prosecutors say the gunfire that killed Shakur was the result of competition between the members of two different gangs, one of which reportedly included Davis.
The former gang leader has requested release on bail, set at $750,000, several times since his arrest in September 2023 and has faced repeated denials.
In rejecting his latest request, Judge Carli Kierny cited concerns over the legitimacy of the funds being offered for his release.
She said she had doubts about the transparency of the funds, suggesting that efforts might have been underway to conceal their true origin.
Kierny also said she was unconvinced that Davis and the music executive reportedly underwriting the money, were not planning to reap profits from the sale of his life story.
Nevada law forbids convicted killers from benefiting financially from their crimes.
Davis has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
The judge also pushed back the start of his trial from 4 November to March next year.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a former gang member and associate of Tupac Shakur, has been a subject of interest in the investigation into Tupac’s murder.
Davis was a member of the Southside Crips gang and had ties to the Notorious B.I.G.’s entourage, making him a key figure in the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry.
Tupac Shakur, a legendary rapper and social activist, was brutally murdered in Las Vegas in 1996.
His death remains one of the most high-profile unsolved murders in American history.
Davis’s involvement in the events leading up to Tupac’s death has been widely scrutinized, with many believing he played a role in the murder.
In a 2018 interview with the Netflix documentary series “ReMastered: Who Killed Tupac?”, Davis confessed to being in the car from which the fatal shots were fired.
However, he denied pulling the trigger himself, implicating his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, instead.
Davis’s confession sparked renewed interest in the case, with many hoping it would lead to a breakthrough in the investigation.
However, his account has been met with skepticism by some, who point to inconsistencies in his story and question his credibility.
