HARDCORE gangster Keefe D won’t be executed if he is convicted of murder in the death of Tupac Shakur, The U.S. Sun can reveal.
Keefe could have faced lethal injection if he was found guilty of murder over his alleged role in the shocking death of pop culture icon Shakur.
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Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson confirmed to The U.S. Sun that the death penalty was discussed by his team when deciding over the case against Keefe.
Attorneys in the DA office pondered whether Keefe deserved to be executed if a jury found him responsible for playing a key role in Tupac’s assassination in 1996.
But they felt the case didn’t warrant terminating Keefe’s life.
While Keefe, real name Duane Davis, did not fire the gun that led to the rapper’s critical injuries, under Nevada law, his involvement as a self-confessed accomplice allows for a murder charge.
Wolfson spoke to the media after Davis pled not guilty to the murder charge at his arraignment hearing in courtroom 14B at the Las Vegas District Court on Thursday, November 2.
Davis, 60, waived his right to have a speedy trial within 60 days, which means his case will be heard in 2024.
Wolfson, speaking after the hearing, said that he and senior colleagues considered the death penalty, usually doled out in Nevada for the most heinous murders, but decided not to pursue it.
“This is a case I and the committee discussed, and we determined that this is not the kind of case that should proceed with the seeking of the death penalty,” he said.
“The thinking in every case is unique, and this is a case where we didn’t feel it was appropriate to seek the death penalty.”
Wolfson spoke of his confidence in prosecuting Davis given that the DA and detectives have spent years collecting evidence.
Central to their case is Keefe’s confessions of hunting Tupac with three other gangsters, procuring a weapon, and hiding the vehicle used for the drive-by shooting.
Wolfson added: “I discussed with my team all aspects of my case – the strengths and weaknesses, and types of evidence.
“I am not going to get into the minutia of the evidence right now, it’s been discussed in the media. Everybody knows that Mr. Davis has made certain statements over the last few years in different forms that is part of the presentation by the protection.
“Mr. Davis has his right to his day in court, and we look forward to that day in court.
“There is always two perspectives in every single case. There is the perspective of the prosecution and the perspective from the defense. That is why we have a criminal justice system. That is why we have jury trials, so that both sides can present their sides of the story.
“And a jury will decide the ultimate outcome.”
Davis, in handcuffs and leg shackles, appeared in court for a few minutes to confirm his not-guilty plea.
After failing to secure a lawyer, he was assigned public defenders, Mr. Arroyo and Cano.
Judge Tara Jones made it clear to Keefe, for the first time, that the DA’s office did not plan to ask for the death penalty if he is found guilty.
Looking relieved and sighing, Keefe acknowledged he understood the decision.
RAP ICON MURDERED
Hip-hop legend Shakur, 25, was shot four times in a drive-by attack close to the Las Vegas Strip in September 1996.
For more than a quarter of a century, no one was arrested for the crime as rival gangs The Crips and Bloods and key witnesses refused to talk.
That changed after Keefe confessed to his role in the killing of Tupac with other gangsters several times in interviews and a book.
In his memoir Compton Street Legend, Keefe wrote about how he helped secure a gun to murder Tupac as revenge for ‘Pac beating up his cousin Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson after a Mike Tyson in the MGM Grand in September 1996.
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He detailed how he helped coordinate a team of fellow LA gangsters to hit and kill the rap icon and his Death Row record label boss Suge Knight.
Detectives at Metro Police and the district attorney built a case that a Vegas grand jury felt was strong enough for Keefe to be charged with murder.
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