By Janay Kingsberry
Duane "Keffe D" Davis - a self-described former gang member who has publicly claimed to have witnessed the killing - was arrested by Las Vegas police early Friday, according to multiple news outlets, including the Associated Press.
He had previously been indicted on a charge of murder with use of a deadly weapon by a Clark County grand jury, according to prosecutors. It is the first arrest police have made in the 27-year-old case.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo said Davis was the "on-ground, on-site commander" who "ordered the death" of Tupac, according to the AP.
The arrest comes two months after Las Vegas police searched a Henderson, Nevada, home linked to Davis's wife.
The warrant said officers had probable cause to believe the property might have documents showing Davis's involvement with a Compton gang as well as "handwritten or typed documents concerning television shows, documentaries, YouTube episodes, book manuscripts, and movies concerning the murder of Tupac Shakur."
Among the items they seized were a copy of Vibe magazine featuring Tupac and a copy of Davis's 2019 memoir, ‘Compton Street Legend,’ in which he claims to be one of the last living witnesses to the attack on Tupac.
In that book and various interviews, Davis has said he was in the Cadillac that pulled up alongside Tupac's BMW at a red light in Las Vegas on the night of Sept. 7, 1996.
He has not, however, definitively said who in the Cadillac opened fire on the 25-year-old rapper, who died of his wounds in a hospital a week later. The shooting also injured the chief of Tupac's label, Marion "Suge" Knight, who was in the BMW with him.
"Going to keep it for the code of the streets," Davis said in a 2018 BET interview when he was asked who fired the shots. "It just came from the back seat, bro."
Tupac had been on his way to a Vegas club after watching Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon in a world heavyweight title bout when he was attacked. Police said at the time that Tupac had been involved in a fight several hours before the shooting.
At the time of his death, Tupac was world-famous for his chart-topping, politically-conscious tracks about systemic racism and inequality.
Earlier that year, he released his fourth studio album, ‘All Eyez on Me’ to instant critical acclaim.
The album was posthumously nominated for "Best Rap Album" at the Grammy Awards the following year and is often ranked by critics as one of the greatest albums of all time.
Since his death, Tupac's musical legacy has endured in popular culture.
He and the Notorious B.I.G., who was killed in a shooting six months after Tupac's death, have become iconic symbols in the hip-hop community, known for their rivalries, careers, distinct storytelling styles and untimely demises.
The Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, which is run by Shakur's sister, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.