Arrest Made in Tupac’s Murder After Decades Transcript

Our cover story about an arrest 27 years in the making as authorities indict Duane Keefe D Davis for the 1996 murder of rapper, Tupac Shakur, calling Davis the shot caller in the killing. Jaclyn Lee is here with more. Jaclyn, good morning to you.

Hey, Will, good morning. As you said, 27 years in the making, investigators pointing to 60 year old Duane Keith Davis, also known as Keefe D as the last surviving person involved with the murder of Tupac Shakur. They say his own statements in 2018 reinvigorated the case and ultimately led to his arrest, which occurred yesterday. Authorities accusing Davis of being the shot caller who provided the gun and orchestrated the 1996 hit on Shakur in retaliation for an incident where Shakur and his entourage beat up Davis’ nephew. Now, a few months ago, back in July, police raided his home where they took multiple computers, a cell phone, bullets, and they confirmed the evidence they confiscated led to his arrest. Now, as for what’s next, Davis will appear in court within the next few days to determine custody status and set a trial date. Will.

All right, Jaclyn, thank you for that and for more, let’s bring in ABC News legal contributor, Brian Buckmire. Brian, thank you for being here with me today. There’s so many questions in this case. This has been perhaps the enduring mystery in hip hop, in all of pop culture, who killed Tupac? There’s been no movement in this case for decades, and now suddenly there is. Why now?

I think, well, the main thing is that memoir. He, for lack of a turn, opened his mouth and gave so much of an explanation that allowed law enforcement to go through the breadcrumbs of, okay, we know where you were in the car. We know who the other people were in the car. We know even who supplied the weapon, and I think it’s his own statements that are getting him in trouble now. And another thing, corroboration. That’s what they said in the pressor, that his words corroborated what they knew or believed they knew in the past.

And what do you see as a possible defense here? Could Keefe D’s memoirs and other interviews serve as both sort of ammo for his defense and for the prosecution’s case?

Absolutely. It’s going to go both ways. Right now, he’s indicted for one charge, but there’s these two sentencing enhancers for using a deadly weapon and also in furtherance of a gang. I think he can pull apart this case by saying, “Hey, this was not in furtherance of a gang. I didn’t try to push this agenda. This was a beef between my nephew and Tupac Shakur, and I was just simply there for the ride. I wasn’t pushing the buttons. I wasn’t the shot caller” as the prosecution is accusing him of. But the memoir and the things that he said about his involvement, how they were almost following Tupac after this incident at MGM Casino, as well as applying the gun. He’s not just being charged for potentially pulling the trigger. He’s also being charged for aiding and abetting, and that’s a very broad statute that can pull in a lot of his actions.

All right, Brian, I wish we had more time to get even deeper in because there are still so many unanswered questions, but this one might help the Shakur family get a little bit of closure if it turns out that this is where it went.

Absolutely.

Brian, thank you very much.