Duane Davis, aka Keefe D, the alleged suspect in the murder of rap icon Tupac Shakur, reportedly has several TV deals lined up to tell his side of the story as he awaits trial. Carl Arnold, Davis' lawyer, revealed to the U.S. Sun on July 21, 2024, that he was also approached to document his attempts to defend his client.
“We get approached with that since the inception of the case ever since I got on board. Different news agencies, different TV shows have all come up and said, ‘Hey, when Keefe gets out, we want to follow you. We want to see the preparation of defense,’” Arnold said.
Arnold also claimed that Keefe D could use the money from TV deals to pay his legal fees. However, all efforts for Davis to profit from Tupac's death were put on hold when Judge Carli Kierny denied him bail during a hearing in June 2024.
The bail was posted by music manager Cash “Wack 100” Jones, which raised concerns for Kierney about whether it was a ploy by Jones to learn more about the murder.
Carl Arnold argued that his client has the right to make money from sharing his side of the story. He further added that Judge Kierney does not have the "legal authority" to prevent this as Keefe D has not been convicted. As reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Arnold stated:
“Judge Kierny does not at this time have the legal authority to prevent Mr. Davis from being paid any proceeds deriving from his story related to his life or any connection he allegedly has with the murder of Mr. Shakur."
Arnold added that no contract has been signed yet, while he waits for his client to receive bail during the hearing scheduled for July 23, 2024. Arnold also called the case a "legacy case," hoping for a documentary-style reality show that could reveal information about the case to the public.
New evidence pointed to Keefe D in Las Vegas at the time of Tupac's death
Keefe D's defense team spent months denying that the former South Side Compton Crips gang member was in Las Vegas the night Tupac Shakur was shot in a drive-by shooting on September 7, 1996.
According to The Source, new evidence revealed a room at the Monte Carlo Resort was booked under Keefe's wife's name, Paula Clemons, that night. Moreover, another room was booked at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino for Keefe's nephew, Orlando Anderson, who was suspected of carrying out the shooting.
Keefe D has also publicly admitted to being in the car that shot at Tupac, alleging that he was in the back seat of a Cadillac with Anderson, who opened fire at the rapper and Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight.
Keefe D's first confession dates back to 2008, when he claimed that Sean "Diddy" Combs put out the hit on Tupac and Knight, promising Davis $1 million for their deaths. In the Death Row Chronicles in 2018, he reiterated the same stories, albeit with some changes in the details.
In his 2019 memoir titled Compton Street Legend, Keefe D wrote about allegedly meeting Diddy to discuss the hit. He added that some members from Death Row allegedly "jumped" his nephew near a casino, making the hit personal.
“When conversations would come up about a million dollar bounty on the heads of Suge Knight and Tupac Shakur, that was business. But after Tupac, Suge, and them Death Row n****s jumped on my nephew Baby Lane [Anderson], the shit became ominously personal,” he wrote.
Keefe D, aged 61, was arrested in connection to Tupac Shakur's murder on September 29, 2023. The trial, initially scheduled for June 3, was postponed to November 4 by Judge Carli Kierny. He is currently awaiting trial at Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas.