First Witnesses Testify in Las Vegas Murder Trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis in 1996 Tupac Shakur Killing

LAS VEGAS, NV — The long-awaited criminal trial over the 1996 murder of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur advanced into witness testimony inside Clark County District Court on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, as prosecutors began presenting evidence against Duane “Keffe D” Davis.

Davis, 63, is charged with one count of murder with a deadly weapon with a gang-enhancement allegation, stemming from the fatal drive-by shooting at Flamingo Road and Koval Lane nearly 30 years ago.

+--------------------------------------------------------+
|          KEFFE D / TUPAC SHAKUR TRIAL DOSSIER          |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
|  - Defendant: Duane "Keffe D" Davis (Age 63)           |
|  - Venue: Clark County District Court (RJC Las Vegas)  |
|  - Presiding Judge: Judge Carli Kierny                 |
|  - Lead Prosecutor: Chief Deputy DA Binu Palal         |
|  - Defense Counsel: Michael Sanft                      |
|  - Key Witnesses: Garry Dale (Ret. LVMPD),             |
|                   Ingrid Stokes (Eyewitness Motorist)  |
|  - Prosecution Theory: Davis as "On-Scene Commander"   |
|  - Defense Strategy: Lack of Physical / Forensic Proof |
+--------------------------------------------------------+

Retaliation Narrative and Eyewitness Testimony

Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal framed Shakur’s killing as an act of calculated gang retaliation following a brawl at the MGM Grand involving Davis’s nephew, Orlando Anderson. Prosecutors emphasized that under Nevada law, the state does not need to prove Davis personally pulled the trigger, but rather that he orchestrated the ambush, secured the .40-caliber handgun, and coordinated the shooting from inside the white Cadillac.

Among the first witnesses called to the stand was Garry Dale, a former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer. Dale testified about conducting a traffic stop on the black BMW carrying Shakur and Death Row Records CEO Marion “Suge” Knight on the Las Vegas Strip just minutes before the shooting due to loud music and a missing license plate.

Jurors also heard from Ingrid Stokes, a passenger in an adjacent vehicle traveling along Flamingo Road when gunfire erupted. Stokes described the sudden burst of muzzle flashes and recalled the longstanding code of silence that stalled the investigation for decades.

Defense Focuses on Time Elapsed and Evidence Gaps

Defense attorney Michael Sanft cross-examined the state’s early witnesses, seeking to expose gaps in police records from 1996 and arguing that the investigation was historically flawed and incomplete.

The defense maintained that Davis’s past admissions in interviews and his 2019 memoir were self-promoting exaggeration designed to profit from entertainment media rather than verified confessions of criminal conduct.

The trial before Judge Carli Kierny is scheduled to continue through early September at the Regional Justice Center.

Source: Clark County District Court Trial Records, Associated Press Judicial Bureau, Eighth Judicial District Court Pool.