TRUE CRIME NEWSKeffe D's Lawyer Says Police Ignored People With Motive 'To Get Rid of Tupac Shakur'
Keffe D’s lawyer claimed police overlooked evidence involving people with a motive to target Tupac Shakur.
Sept. 2 2026, Published 11:26 a.m. ET
Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ lawyer is challenging the investigation behind one of hip-hop’s most historic murder convictions.
One day after Davis was found guilty in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur, attorney Michael Sanft said police did not fully pursue people who may have had a separate reason to target the rapper.
“What I’ll tell you flat out is that there is evidence out there of ownership of Cadillacs that was never looked into by people that had some motive here to get rid of Tupac Shakur,” Sanft told 8 News Now.
Michael Sanft Questions Police Leads
Keffe D's lawyer alleged investigators failed to pursue others who may have wanted Tupac Shakur dead.
Sanft said the defense began the case at a major disadvantage after losing key pretrial motions.
“It just prejudiced the whole thing from the beginning. It poisoned that water,” Sanft admitted.
“So as a result, we were [at] a high school football game. We’re walking in. We’re about doing an opening kickoff,” he continued.
“You look up and the scoreboard’s already zero for us and 52 for the state. You see what I’m saying? Horrible position to be in, but that’s what we had,” he added.
Davis, 63, was convicted of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon on August 31 after a Clark County jury deliberated for less than three hours.
Prosecutors dismissed the gang-enhancement allegation before the verdict.
Davis is scheduled to be sentenced in Las Vegas in October.
Defense Cites a Cadillac Lead
Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight were reportedly followed by a cream-colored Cadillac, retired officer testified.
The defense called retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer Charlie Mangrum.
“Suge and Tupac were there approximately 30 minutes and they exited back out followed by a cream-colored Cadillac,” Mangrum testified.
“The last one was Suge Knight’s cream-colored Cadillac,” retired Metro Sgt. Stan Hyt revealed.
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Prosecutors Focused on Davis’ Accounts
Prosecutors said Keffe D helped organize retaliation after Tupac Shakur beat his nephew.
Prosecutors argued that Davis helped organize retaliation after Shakur and others beat Davis’ nephew, Orlando Anderson, at the MGM Grand following the Mike Tyson fight.
They said Davis obtained a gun, traveled in a white Cadillac and helped direct the pursuit of Shakur and Knight.
The state presented recordings from Davis’ 2008 and 2009 law-enforcement interviews as well as later media appearances.
Prosecutors said he repeatedly placed himself in the Cadillac involved in the shooting, even though he was not accused of firing the shots.
Sanft Disputes the Verdict
Keffe D’s lawyer criticized the jury’s short deliberation after Tupac Shakur murder verdict.
Sanft said the short deliberation did not allow jurors enough time to closely test the state’s case and the defense evidence.
“They didn’t give it the analysis that I think they should have as a jury,” Sanft expressed.
He also maintained that prosecutors did not establish Davis was in Las Vegas with the other men alleged to be in the white Cadillac.
“You know, the amazing thing about what we’re doing here is they never put any of the four people that were in the car except for Orlando Anderson in Las Vegas. We just think that somehow they were here,” he concluded.
