LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: The trial of Duane Keith 'Keffe D' Davis in the 1996 murder case of rapper Tupac Shakur has been scheduled in court on June 3, 2024.
The 60-year-old former Southern California street gang leader was arrested in September for orchestrating the Las Vegas drive-by shooting that killed Tupac 27 years ago.
Davis is the only person alive who was in the car from which the rapper was fatally shot, and he also happens to be the only one charged with a crime related to the murder.
According to the Daily Mail, prosecutors have stated that they are not planning to seek the death penalty for Davis' alleged crime.
Defense attorney Ross Goodman represented Davis when he appeared in court in October, but the lawyer said that he could not reach terms with the accused.
The defense had stated that prosecutors lacked witnesses and key evidence, including a gun or vehicle, for Tupac's killing.
Keefe D remains in prison without bail
The accused did not testify before the grand jury that indicted him and has declined to speak to the press from prison.
The indictment against Davis alleges that he obtained and provided a gun to someone in the back seat of a Cadillac before firing started from their car to the car where Tupac and rap music mogul Marion 'Suge' Knight was sitting, at an intersection just off the Las Vegas Strip.
The rapper's killing was sparked by competition between East Coast members of a Bloods gang sect and West Coast groups of a Crips sect for dominance in a musical genre dubbed 'gangsta rap,' claimed prosecutors.
They also informed the grand jury of Davis implicating himself in the killing in multiple interviews and a 2019 tell-all memoir that described his life leading a Crips sect in Compton.
Internet reacts
Netizens took to X to voice their disapproval of the trial being scheduled in 2024.
"That’s a long way out in June of next year. Crazy!" posted a user.
"This case is dragging - is that a new judge ?" wrote another.
"I'm an ignorant. Why do they need so much time?" was one's query.
"They dragging this case out until June of next year. 13 days before 2Pac's birthday. I just want justice ⚖ for 2Pac," posted a fan.
"June 3rd?! Dude will be killed by then, come on," was the worry of another.