Keefe D Says He Won't Take Plea Deal In Tupac Murder Trial

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares
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Keefe D Wont Take Plea Deal Tupac Murder Trial
Tupac Shakur at the 10th Annual Soul Train Music Awards. (Photo by Steve Granitz Archive/WireImage/Getty Images)
A jury trial for the murder of Tupac Shakur is set to begin in a little over a week, with Duane "Keefe D" Davis at the center.

Duane "Keefe D" Davis recently got a major blow in his murder trial, as the court will admit his 2008 interview with police about Tupac Shakur's death as evidence. In a conversation with 8 News Now Las Vegas, he said he won't take a plea deal in the face of these and other trial updates.

"I didn't do nothing," Keefe D remarked to investigator Vanessa Murphy. "I’m 63. I had a cancer battle. And I got three stents to my heart, and the average American lives like 74 years old. 10 years, I’m dead. So why would I take a deal? I heard it was, like, 10 and 25. I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to take a deal like that. Especially after I haven't done it. I'm an innocent man."

Elsewhere, Davis denied being in Nevada at the time of Tupac's murder and said his previous confessions to the murder were just a financial ploy. "I was just after the money, and they said I was covered," he alleged, further claiming his innocence. "I did it for the money... That was the ghostwriters that did it. I didn't write that book... Just read the book. You know I didn't write that book. And the [DJ] Vlad thing, the lady, she gave me $150,000... They wrote me a script to follow. My lawyer came with the script, and it seemed like he was in bed with them the whole time."

Keefe D Defends His Innocence

Keefe D said he was trying to feed his family and denied any gang involvement since 1989. Also, he spoke on helping Suge Knight start Death Row Records, using this as an argument against wanting to kill their biggest artist. "Why would I kill the guy that's making us the most money? [...] It don't make sense. Suge Knight will tell you that I didn't do it," Davis remarked.

Finally, he expressed hope in his case and regret over putting his family in this situation. Jury selection in this case will reportedly begin on August 10.

As Keefe D and his lawyers fight back, we will see if this plea deal offer changes. Alternatively, the full jury trial will begin soon, barring any delays.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.

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