Tupac Shooting Suspect Rejected Bail Release Funded by Cash Jones
Duane "Keffe D" Davis, the purported mastermind behind the 1996 assassination of renowned rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas, was denied bail at a court hearing on Tuesday. Judge Carli Kierny voiced worries over the funding source as the primary concern.
During the hearing, Kierny listened to arguments from the prosecution and Cash Jones, a music manager seeking to post the necessary 15% of Davis’ $750,000 bail. The remaining 85% was to be guaranteed by eBAIL, a bail bond company owned by Las Vegas bail agent Marc Gabriel.
Milking the Cash
Jones, known as “Wack 100” in the industry, told Kierny that he wished to free Davis as a gesture. However, the prosecution argued that Jones' real intention was to record interviews with Davis, which would, in turn, violate Kierny’s orders prohibiting Davis from profiting from his statements.
Jones is recognized for managing artists with criminal histories. Among his clients are Blueface, who, in 2023, accepted a plea deal for his participation in a Las Vegas Strip club shooting, earning three years of probation, only to be arrested again on Jan. 12, 2024, for violating the probation.
The Game is another client of Jones, whose criminal background includes a 2007 felony weapons charge, assaulting an off-duty police officer in 2015, and being sued for civilly sexually assaulting a contestant on the VH1 reality show “She Got Game” in 2016. A $7.1 million judgment against him was upheld by an appellate court.
Jones is also infamous for making inflammatory statements about Shakur, referring to him as a "perpetrator" who creates "rubbish" music.
At the hearing, Kierny indicated that Davis’ bail request would be considered, but she did not grant the request. She mentioned that she would examine records and that the request could be revisited in court.
This decision indicates that the 61-year-old self-proclaimed leader of LA’s Southside Crips gang will likely stay in the Clark County Detention Center until the trial on Nov. 4.
Murder on the Streets
Davis, an alleged Southside Compton Crips gang member, is the only individual ever charged with Shakur’s murder. He was also the sole survivor who rode in the vehicle from which the gunshots were fired on Sept. 7, 1996.
Although he is not charged with pulling the trigger, Davis is accused of orchestrating the crime, which Nevada law also defines as murder.
Orlando Anderson, Davis' nephew and fellow alleged Crips member, was questioned but never charged in connection with the crime. He was killed two years later in a gang-related shooting at a Compton, Calif. car wash.
Two hours before Shakur was killed, he and a group that included Knight were recorded assaulting Anderson as he left a boxing match at the MGM Grand. All members of the group, including Shakur, were believed to be associated with Mob Piru, a larger part of the Bloods gang, the Crips’ sworn enemy.
Two other men were suspected of riding in the white Cadillac from which Shakur was shot through the rear left window. Driver Terry Brown and Deandrae “Big Dre” Smith also died without ever being charged.
Davis pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in November 2021. If found guilty, he is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison.
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