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The indictment against the man accused of killing Tupac Shakur was postponed for a second time Thursday because he has not yet found an attorney to represent him.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis was charged last month in connection with the 1996 drive-by killing of rapper Tupac Shakur.
Nearly three decades after the rapper’s death, Davis, 60, was indicted by a Clark County grand jury for open murder with use of a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement.
He has been in jail since he was arrested near his Las Vegas home.
On Thursday, Davis appeared in Clark County Court wearing a navy blue jumpsuit and shackles.
He was walked into the room chained to other accused criminals who were there for trials regarding their cases.
Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis appeared in court in Las Vegas on Thursday
Davis was arrested last month nearly 30 years after the murder of Tupac Shakur
His beard seemed to be graying and growing out.
The man stood up as the judge began his hearing and ended it within seconds after Ross Goodman, the attorney representing him, said he could not confirm he would remain his attorney and that they needed another two weeks to find out.
The judge, Tierra Jones, said if Goodman and Davis are not prepared by Nov. 2, she will appoint a public defender.
“We’re going to start this thing in two weeks,” she said.
Goodman is a well-known criminal defense attorney from Las Vegas. His mother, Carolyn Goodman, is the current mayor of Las Vegas, and his father, Oscar Goodman, was also the city’s mayor.
Earlier this month, Davis’ arraignment was postponed for the first time after he told the judge that his attorney, who was not in court with him that day, needed a two-week delay.
Shakur died on September 7, 1996 at the age of 25 after being shot while sitting in a car near the Las Vegas strip.
According to police, a white Cadillac pulled up next to the rapper’s car and immediately started shooting.
The fatal encounter occurred just a few hours after a fight at the MGM Grand between members of two rival gangs from Compton, California.
The gangs were the Mob Piru Bloods and the South Side Compton Crips. Davis was the shot caller for the Crips at the time.
He is accused of orchestrating the “retaliation shooting” that killed Shakur, although authorities say he may not have pulled the trigger himself.
Davis previously admitted he was in the Cadillac at the time of the shooting.
Shakur died on September 7, 1996 at the age of 25 after being shot while sitting in a car near the Las Vegas strip
Police say even if Davis had not fired the fatal shot, his command would have authorized someone else pulling the trigger.
He is also accused of providing the weapon used in the shooting. They believe Davis received the weapon used from a “close associate” but would not provide further details, saying they will come forward at trial.
Police say Davis is the only living suspect in the murder case that lay dormant for years until it was “revived” in 2018 when new information emerged.
“Specifically, Duane Davis’ own admissions regarding his involvement in this murder investigation, which he has provided to numerous different media outlets,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Lieutenant Jason Johansson told reporters in September.
Davis wrote in his tell-all 2019 memoir “Compton Street Legend” that he was in the Cadillac involved in the shooting.
In the book, he said he told authorities about his involvement in the 2010 killing during a closed-door meeting with federal and local authorities.
“They promised they would quash the indictment and stop the grand jury if I helped them,” he wrote.
He was 46 at the time and facing life in prison on drug charges when he agreed to speak to authorities.