Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who was accused of setting up 2Pac‘s murder, is now pleading with the Nevada Supreme Court to dismiss the charges against him.
In a court filing Tuesday obtained by Billboard, Davis’ legal team argued the case lacks hard proof and was built on baseless statements Davis allegedly made years ago, some of which they claim were given under immunity deals. Davis, a former Los Angeles gang leader, was arrested in September 2023 and charged with first-degree murder for allegedly orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed 2Pac in Las Vegas.
“This prosecution has captured worldwide attention,” defense attorney Carl Arnold wrote in the petition. “The global public is watching how Nevada upholds due process, fairness, and the rule of law in one of the most closely scrutinized criminal proceedings in recent memory.”
He added, “The State has offered nothing to corroborate the trustworthiness of Mr. Davis’s alleged statements, and nothing independently connecting him to the murder itself.”
The 62-year-old has since pleaded not guilty, despite previously acknowledging his involvement in interviews and in a 2019 memoir where he claimed to have provided the gun to the alleged shooter, his late nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson. Davishas even claimed in an ABC News jail interview in March that he didn’t write the book, and the prosecutors “can’t even place me out here.”
Earlier this year, a lower court judge allowed the case to proceed, rejecting claims that the trial would violate Davis’ constitutional rights. Davis’ legal team is now asking the state’s highest court to intervene before the case heads to trial in February 2026.
Lawyers added that Nevada law doesn’t allow a conviction based solely on uncorroborated statements made outside court, and they argue that waiting until after a trial could lead to further delays in a case that has already dragged on for nearly 30 years.
“Although Mr. Davis was not charged until 2023, the prosecution arises from a homicide that occurred in 1996—nearly three decades ago,” his lawyers say. “The Court should exercise its discretion to hear the petition on the merits now—before the damage is done.”
