An alleged witness testified in the weeks before Davis was indicted for the murder of Tupac Shakur, claiming that Davis ordered the hit, but the true shooter is not who everyone expects.
Duane “Keefe D” Davis was arrested last week for “murder with the use of a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang.” Prosecutors believe the motive behind the shooting was “retribution,” as Tupac and his gang had attacked Orlando Anderson just hours before he was shot and killed on September 7th of 1996.
The prosecution claims that Davis was in the car that drove by to shoot and kill Tupac, along with 3 other men – his nephew Orlando Anderson, also known as “Baby Lane,” Terrence “Bubble Up” Brown, and Deandre “Big Dre” Smith. It is thought that Davis handed the murder weapon to the men in the backseat, with many believing that Anderson was the one who fired the deadly shots.
The witness, an affiliate of the South Side Compton Crips, claims differently. The witness told a jury that Smith was the true shooter, but Keefe D was the one who ordered the hit. The gang affiliate told the jury: “When [Davis] passed the firearm to Orlando, Orlando didn’t have a clear shot. Big Dre is 6’6”. At this time he’s 370, 400 [pounds]. He’s big. And you’re not going to be able to lean over a big guy like that and get — I mean, my time of knowing things, doing — you’re not going to reach over like that because shells would have been popping all in Big Dre’s face and all kind of stuff. He can’t bend down or anything, he’s too big.”
When prosecutors asked the witness if Smith was the shooter, he said “He did the shooting.” The gang affiliate also told the jury that “Keefe is the one who’s going to make all the arrangements and all the plans until that gun goes into somebody else’s hand.”
Keefe D has previously tried to deny allegations of Deandre Smith being the shooter, telling an interviewer that “Dre was an All-CIF basketball player. He had a nice shot, dunking, all that shit. Dre was an athlete. He wasn’t about that.” When pressed further, being asked to clarify that Smith in fact had not pulled the trigger, he replied agitated and said “Man! We already discussed that! What, you trying to get me in jail again?!”
The truth will soon all come out as the trial against Davis continues. Duane Davis is now 60 years old and being held without bail for his crimes in 1996. His next expected court date is this Wednesday, October 4th, for his arraignment.