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Tupac Shakur murder suspect Keefe D plans to sue prison guards claiming they almost beat him to death in his cell
Keefe D's eldest son has stood staunchly behind his dad, even while contradicting some of his claims
TUPAC Shakur murder suspect Keefe D plans to sue prison officers over his allegations they beat him up and could have killed him earlier this summer.
Keefe D has instructed his lawyer to file a civil lawsuit over claims that he was assaulted in his cell by Clark County Detention Center correctional officers in August.
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The self-confessed former Compton gang leader’s attorney, Carl Arnold, confirmed that Keefe, real name Duane Davis, will launch a suit in civil court rather than as part of the murder case.
The new legal twist adds more drama to the Tupac trial, which saw fuming Keefe rant in court that CCDC guards attacked him on the orders of prosecutors.
In the August trial readiness hearing, Keefe barked at Kierny that Clark County detention center officers “brutally beat me up, attacked me, and assaulted me.”
Both Metro Police, which runs the guards, and the district attorney vehemently deny the claims.
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Currently, no motions or notices have been issued by Arnold on behalf of Keefe in his murder case, which is set for trial in March.
Judge Carli Kierny had asked for Davis to formally file the “very serious allegations regarding police brutality and the DAs orchestrating some kind of attack on you” to the court.
In response, Arnold clarified, “On the whole attack matter, we are kind of biding our time on that one. It did happen. But that is more of a civil matter. We will deal with that in due time. We still have time with that on the statute.”
Arnold remains hopeful that his client, who he famously labeled “The Godfather Of Compton,” could raise the $125,000 for bail before Christmas.
Most read in The US Sun
Keefe was denied two efforts to supply the sum through rapper turned producer Cash “Wack 100” Jones and a concert promoter over concerns about the source of money.
Keefe’s family turned to online fundraising by creating a donation website in September, but the link has disappeared in recent weeks.
Shock audio reveals moment Tupac Shakur suspect says it was funny seeing rapper dying in street moments after shooting
“I did not know anything about that," Arnold said about the site going dark.
"Keefe is doing good. He is still alive and kicking.
“If anybody connected to the family or within the family comes up with the money, I will file for bail. So far, nobody has.”
Before the website went down, a note from David’s family stated, “Judge Kierny continues to use arbitrary and cautious requirements to deny Mr. Duane 'Keefe' Davis bail.
“He had a generous benefactor pay for his bail and she would not recognize the legitimacy of that persons business but chose to question the motive behind this generosity.
“The persons motive should have never been legally considered by Judge Kierny just solely the legitimacy of the business.
“Nevertheless, we have continuously seen these games of hidden agendas and moving targets when it comes to minorities and the underprivileged.
“Let’s beat the system at its own game! Please make an anonymous donation to the 'Free Keefe Davis' campaign. We only need $75,000 and have a reputable bail company to assist us in posting the bail this judge can not refuse.”
'NOBODY TOUCHED HIM'
The impending civil lawsuit twist comes as Keefe’s son has advocated for his father in media appearances.
“Keefe is doing good. He is still alive and kicking.
Carl Arnold, Keefe's lawyer
But Keefe’s eldest son, Duane Davis Jr., has also contradicted his gangster dad’s own claims in a Las Vegas court that he had been attacked by guards.
Davis Jr. admitted that his father’s claims to judge Kierny of being attacked and theft of money and food on the orders of prosecutors was simply untrue.
Davis Jr. spoke about the criminal case of murder charges over the 1996 killing of Tupac filed against his father - who gloats at the nickname the Godfather Of Compton.
“He is not sweating anything, He knows he is innocent," Davis Jr. said.
He also believes his unusual comments made on a YouTube live special with Richard Bond, director of the series Tupac: Cover Up, back up his hope that his father will walk free after the trial next year.
Why it’s taken so long for justice in the Tupac Shakur case
By The Sun's Senior Reporter Emma Parry, who has been reporting on the Tupac murder for the past 10 years
TUPAC fans have been waiting for justice for the iconic rapper for almost 28 years.
Finally in September 2023 there appeared to be progress with the arrest of Duane "Keefe D" Davis - a former Southside Crip gangster from Compton, LA - who had been telling the world for years that he and his fellow "gang soldiers" were responsible for the hit.
I've been reporting on the case for several years and it always appeared pretty cut and dry...Keefe had spent the past decade gaining notoriety by boasting about his alleged involvement in the shooting - now he was finally getting what he deserves. But despite Keefe running his mouth for years, I now believe a guilty verdict in November's trial is far from guaranteed.
Keefe describes in great detail in his memoir Compton Street Legend what went down the night Pac was shot, extracts from which The U.S. Sun has published.
He claimed that he was offered a million dollars by rapper Diddy to "handle" Tupac and Suge Knight and when he and his Crip gangsters came across the pair driving near the Strip in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, Keefe alleged he passed the gun to his nephew Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson who took the shot. Keefe said if Pac had been on his side: "I would have blast".
Keefe repeated the claims multiple times over the years, on YouTube channels, documentaries, and even in taped confessions to police, when he believed he could not be prosecuted. In one confession to the LAPD, Keefe appeared completely remorseless telling detectives: “We didn’t give a f**k...The ambulance [for Tupac] was parked right here next to us. That s**t was as funny as a motherf**ker.”
The Sun has been publishing stories about Keefe's self confessed involvement in the crime since 2018.
I sent many links to his confessions to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, asking them why this man had not been arrested yet. They would thank me for the info but say that they could not comment because the case was still active. From the outside, it looked like no action was being taken at all.
We spoke to former detectives involved in the case and documentary makers who all felt utterly frustrated at the lack of progress in the case. We even published a plea from former LAPD detective Greg Kading, who had probed the murders, urging Las Vegas cops to arrest Keefe, back in 2020.
For years, the case appeared to have been forgotten and ignored, to be left forever unsolved.
But finally, in the summer of 2023, we got word from our sources that there had been a huge development in the case. A secret grand jury was due to be held on whether or not Keefe should be indicted. I was dubious at first but around the same time a house in Henderson, Nevada, linked to Keefe, was raided in July as part of the Tupac investigation.
Things were heating up.
Later that summer, behind closed doors, jurors listened to hours of testimony from former cops, detectives, and coroners involved in the Tupac case and gangsters and associates of Keefe's and Pac's from back in the day. They were shown graphic photos of Tupac's bullet-ridden body. After days of evidence, they decided there was enough evidence to prosecute Keefe.
Once the secret documents were released I poured over the transcripts. While interesting, many of the witnesses were telling stories they'd heard second-hand. None of the prosecution witnesses had a clear look at who shot Pac. One witness Devonta Lee claimed another gangster called Big Dre took the shot - not Orlando. Maybe things weren't as clear-cut as I first thought.
Keefe was then arrested on September 30, 2023 at his home. Bodycam footage we obtained from the scene showed Keefe bragging to cops even as he was handcuffed in the back of a police car - telling officers he was involved in the "biggest case in Las Vegas history".
Following Keefe's multiple appearances in court, he seems to have lost much of that bravado and now cuts a sad, lonely figure.
Suffering from various health problems as a result of cancer, he's struggling to cope with the brutalities of jail life and can't get together enough money to afford his bail. He feels some of his old Southside Crip associates - men he handed wads of cash to in his glory days, have just abandoned him.
Keefe is now desperate to get out of jail, and his defense stems is leaning on his claim that he completely made up his involvement in the Tupac murder for fame and money. He saw other people cashing in on the murder so he thought he would too. He reckons his confessions to police were all lies - he made it up because he was under a plea deal and thought it would help him beat his other charges.
And, according to his lawyer Carl Arnold, he wasn't even in Las Vegas on the night of the shooting. Arnold remains convinced he will see his client walk free and their secret weapon could be former Death Row Records boss Suge.
As the only other person still alive from either car, Suge, currently in prison for a fatal hit and run, would be a key witness. Suge is the only person still alive who knows what went down - he saw the shooter. While he's said he won't testify at the November trial, Suge has claimed in a TMZ interview from prison that Orlando was not the shooter, which again throws into doubt Keefe's version of events.
Keefe and his lawyer are hoping they might be able to change his mind and persuade him to testify for the defense. And Suge holds the power to blow the prosecution's case apart.
And if Keefe walks free, will there ever be justice for Pac?
And when asked about claims Keefe had been “beaten up” behind bars, Davis Jr. said, “He’s good. He’s up in there getting fat from all that eating and s**t.
“It ain’t been no big deal, no problems, no big problems for him. He good.
“He’s not in no type of [protective custody] unit or anything. So, he’s good.
“ I know a lot of people claim that he got beat up three, four times. That was bulls**t.
“Nobody touched him. No, he didn’t get beat up by anybody.
“He had a problem with an officer over a mattress, an extra mattress
“They wanted him to react so he could deny his bail.
“That would’ve been another reason if he would’ve reacted.”
He added: “I love to get the truth out.”
Davis Jr. also hit back at suggestions that Keefe, who has boasted multiple times in interviews and his own memoir that he was the shot caller for the Crips gang that killed Tupac, is struggling in custody.
“A lot of people are talking about how he is going to hang himself…no. He is in good spirits and everything.”
In August, Las Vegas Metro Police told The U.S. Sun Keefe D lied about being attacked.
"LVMPD Corrections Officers were conducting a routine module search of Davis' cell and adjacent rooms when they discovered contraband inside of his cell," Metro Police said.
"Davis became physically uncooperative and was subsequently handcuffed. Davis declined medical attention and officers documented the encounter. At no point did Davis complain of injury.”
'DAD'S BEEN FRAMED'
Tupac was shot on September 7, 1996, while driving near the Las Vegas Strip with record executive Suge Knight.
He was rushed to hospital but died a few days later.
Davis Jr. feels prosecutors “have a lot of work” to convict his father for the murder when the trial starts in March.
He believes his dad has been framed - despite his multiple confession and labeled the criminal process as “crooked.”
“They have no physical evidence of my dad being there or doing that to somebody," Davis Jr. said.
He stands by his father’s key defense, as confirmed by his lawyer Carl Arnold, that he lied about his involvement in the crime for money.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
He also said his dad earned thousands of dollars appearing in media for appearances discussing his gang links, calling it "a character that you get in to get paid.”
Arnold has claimed that the DA has no evidence that Keefe was even in Vegas on the night Tupac was gunned down.
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