LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada decide on Tuesday postponed the homicide trial of the one suspect ever charged within the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur for practically a yr, saying she had little selection given new developments offered by his protection attorneys and the necessity to guarantee a good trial.
The trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, beforehand set for subsequent month in Las Vegas, has been rescheduled for Feb. 9, 2026. The decide ordered prosecutors and the protection to return to court docket over the summer season for a standing listening to.
“It looks like there are quite a few things that are left to be done to get this case prepared so that Mr. Davis can have effective assistance of counsel,” Clark County District Court docket Decide Carli Kierny stated throughout a brief listening to.
When requested by the decide if he was OK with shifting the trial that far out, Davis agreed.
Davis’ protection group filed a movement Friday searching for extra time, saying essential investigative work needed to be carried out and witnesses wanted to be interviewed to make sure he will get a good trial. The attorneys stated a non-public investigator recognized witnesses who can testify that Davis was not on the scene of the capturing.
Legal professional Carl Arnold, who’s main the protection, stated the case includes decades-old allegations and demanding information have but to be totally examined.
On the night time of Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur was in a BMW being pushed by Demise Row Data founder Marion “Suge” Knight. They have been ready at a purple gentle when a white Cadillac pulled up subsequent to them and gunfire erupted.
Davis, an ex-gang chief who’s accused of orchestrating Shakur’s killing close to the Las Vegas Strip, has pleaded not responsible to first-degree homicide and has been jailed since his September 2023 arrest.
Davis has acknowledged in interviews and in his tell-all memoir that he supplied the gun used within the drive-by capturing and that he was within the automotive. However his court docket filings say his descriptions in recent times of orchestrating the capturing have been “done for entertainment purposes and to make money.”
Arnold has argued that Davis by no means ought to have been charged due to immunity agreements that Davis says he reached years in the past with federal and native prosecutors whereas residing in California.
Prosecutors disagree, saying they’ve robust proof in opposition to Davis and any immunity settlement was restricted.
Protection attorneys are also elevating questions concerning the method of Shakur’s dying, saying they’ve witness info indicating that he was in secure situation after the capturing and died all of a sudden after being hospitalized for every week. They need to seek the advice of medical and forensic consultants to judge potential various causes of dying.
