Keefe D blasted by cops over claim prison attack was ‘ordered’ and reveal Tupac Shakur murder suspect’s cell was raided
By Callie Patteson,
2024-08-30
COPS have slammed claims prosecutors ordered a prison “beating” on Tupac’s murder suspect and insisted officers were actually carrying out a routine cell search when they found “contraband.”
Self-confessed LA gangbanger Keefe D had to be restrained by police officers during the raid after becoming “uncooperative” but no injuries occurred, bosses at the Clark County Detection Center said.
Keefe, who is being held in jail ahead of his murder trial for the death of rapper Tupac Shakur next spring, previously claimed that he was “beaten up” for no reason.
Officials are publicly disputing any claim that they mistreated the 61-year-old, who is in protective custody after losing his two bids for bail .
Davis ranted at Judge Carli Kierny at the end of Tuesday’s court hearing, that two correction officers attacked him, leaving him battered and bruised.
Ashen faced Keefe told Kierny that he feared dying after alleging he was beaten up in his cell on August 9.
However, in a statement to The U.S. Sun, a spokesperson for Las Vegas Metro Police, which manage center officers, hit back at the career criminal, who revels in the nickname “The Godfather Of Compton.”
Their statement read: “LVMPD Corrections Officers were conducting a routine module search of Davis’ cell and adjacent rooms when they discovered contraband inside of his cell .
“Davis became physically uncooperative and was subsequently handcuffed. Davis declined medical attention and officers documented the encounter. At no point did Davis complain of injury.”
Judge Kierny made it clear to Keefe during the hearing that his lawyer had not raised such allegations with the court in recent days.
Davis, who menacingly glared at prosecutors Marc DiGiacomo and Binu Palal during the 20 minute session, made a startling unsubstantiated claim that they had sent officers to attack him.
Keefe’s verbal volley caught in camera, began: “They brutally beat me up, attacked me and assaulted me.
“I told them I had them cancer and am on blood thinners.”
He alleged that when he “asked for their names, their sergeant ran them out the door.”
Keefe alleged that other defendants saw the alleged attack and a video camera may have been on during the alleged altercation.
“I am on blood thinners…a bloody nose and you can die.”
Why it’s taken so long for justice in the Tupac Shakur case
By The Sun’s Senior Reporter Emma Parry , who has been reporting on the Tupac murder for the past 10 years
TUPAC fans have been waiting for justice for the iconic rapper for almost 28 years.
Finally in September 2023 there appeared to be progress with the arrest of Duane “Keefe D” Davis – a former Southside Crip gangster from Compton, LA – who had been telling the world for years that he and his fellow “gang soldiers” were responsible for the hit.
I’ve been reporting on the case for several years and it always appeared pretty cut and dry…Keefe had spent the past decade gaining notoriety by boasting about his alleged involvement in the shooting – now he was finally getting what he deserves. But despite Keefe running his mouth for years, I now believe a guilty verdict in November’s trial is far from guaranteed.
Keefe describes in great detail in his memoir Compton Street Legend what went down the night Pac was shot, extracts from which The U.S. Sun has published.
He claimed that he was offered a million dollars by rapper Diddy to “handle” Tupac and Suge Knight and when he and his Crip gangsters came across the pair driving near the Strip in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, Keefe alleged he passed the gun to his nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson who took the shot. Keefe said if Pac had been on his side: “I would have blast”.
Keefe repeated the claims multiple times over the years, on YouTube channels, documentaries, and even in taped confessions to police, when he believed he could not be prosecuted. In one confession to the LAPD, Keefe appeared completely remorseless telling detectives: “We didn’t give a f**k…The ambulance [for Tupac] was parked right here next to us. That s**t was as funny as a motherf**ker.”
The Sun has been publishing stories about Keefe’s self confessed involvement in the crime since 2018 .
I sent many links to his confessions to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, asking them why this man had not been arrested yet. They would thank me for the info but say that they could not comment because the case was still active. From the outside, it looked like no action was being taken at all.
We spoke to former detectives involved in the case and documentary makers who all felt utterly frustrated at the lack of progress in the case. We even published a plea from former LAPD detective Greg Kading, who had probed the murders, urging Las Vegas cops to arrest Keefe, back in 2020.
For years, the case appeared to have been forgotten and ignored, to be left forever unsolved.
But finally, in the summer of 2023, we got word from our sources that there had been a huge development in the case. A secret grand jury was due to be held on whether or not Keefe should be indicted. I was dubious at first but around the same time a house in Henderson, Nevada, linked to Keefe, was raided in July as part of the Tupac investigation.
Things were heating up.
Later that summer, behind closed doors , jurors listened to hours of testimony from former cops, detectives, and coroners involved in the Tupac case and gangsters and associates of Keefe’s and Pac’s from back in the day. They were shown graphic photos of Tupac’s bullet-ridden body. After days of evidence, they decided there was enough evidence to prosecute Keefe.
Once the secret documents were released I poured over the transcripts. While interesting, many of the witnesses were telling stories they’d heard second-hand. None of the prosecution witnesses had a clear look at who shot Pac. One witness Devonta Lee claimed another gangster called Big Dre took the shot – not Orlando. Maybe things weren’t as clear-cut as I first thought.
Keefe was then arrested on September 30, 2023 at his home. Bodycam footage we obtained from the scene showed Keefe bragging to cops even as he was handcuffed in the back of a police car – telling officers he was involved in the “biggest case in Las Vegas history”.
Following Keefe’s multiple appearances in court, he seems to have lost much of that bravado and now cuts a sad, lonely figure.
Suffering from various health problems as a result of cancer , he’s struggling to cope with the brutalities of jail life and can’t get together enough money to afford his bail. He feels some of his old Southside Crip associates – men he handed wads of cash to in his glory days, have just abandoned him .
Keefe is now desperate to get out of jail , and his defense stems is leaning on his claim that he completely made up his involvement in the Tupac murder for fame and money. He saw other people cashing in on the murder so he thought he would too. He reckons his confessions to police were all lies – he made it up because he was under a plea deal and thought it would help him beat his other charges.
And, according to his lawyer Carl Arnold, he wasn’t even in Las Vegas on the night of the shooting. Arnold remains convinced he will see his client walk free and their secret weapon could be former Death Row Records boss Suge .
As the only other person still alive from either car, Suge, currently in prison for a fatal hit and run, would be a key witness. Suge is the only person still alive who knows what went down – he saw the shooter. While he’s said he won’t testify at the November trial, Suge has claimed in a TMZ interview from prison that Orlando was not the shooter, which again throws into doubt Keefe’s version of events.
Keefe and his lawyer are hoping they might be able to change his mind and persuade him to testify for the defense. And Suge holds the power to blow the prosecution’s case apart.
And if Keefe walks free, will there ever be justice for Pac?
Keefe alleged that he complained to “deputies”, asking “what is wrong with you guys. Have some compassion. This is wrong.”
Judge Kierny noted, “you have made very serious allegations regarding police brutality and the DAs orchestrating some kind of attack on you. I was not made aware of this.”
As Keefe tried to argue with Kierny, she urged him to have his lawyer Carl Arnold file motions and present evidence to the court.
Judge Kierny urged Mr. Arnold to submit paperwork on behalf of Keefe, but again Keefe fired back: “I wish they could be disciplined or fired. This was wrong.”
You have made very serious allegations regarding police brutality and the DAs orchestrating some kind of attack on you. I was not made aware of this.
Judge Carli Kierny
He claimed that there was a nurse’s note, which may confirm injuries.
Keefe’s outburst came moments after Kierny ruled he would not be granted bail after a 20-minute hearing at court room 12B at the Las Vegas Judicial Court.
Keefe, real name Duane Davis, has spent eight months fighting to raise cash legitimately to be released on house arrest .
His lawyer Arnold, argued that Keefe was legally allowed to make money from his reputation given he was not convicted for Pac’s death.
Keefe, who wore his dark blue CCDC uniform, stood grim faced as Arnold, speaking via iPhone on FaceTime , spoke up for him being freed.
Kierny revealed that she was unsatisfied about the nature of the funds needed for Keefe’s $112,500 bail bond from a company called AG Entertainment,
Outside of court, prosector PalaI told The U.S. Sun that he “would not dignify Mr. Davis’ allegations with a response.”
During the “trial readiness” hearing on Tuesday, Arnold noted that he needed more time to review dozens of files from the LAPD concerning Keefe’s case.
Arnold was deciding what motions he planned to file having both “the case dismissed” or aspects of evidence presented by prosecutors.
All parties then agreed to push back the trial from its original November start date to March 17, 2025
Before the hearing started miserable Keefe sat slumped in the grey chair separated from his fellow defendants.
He looked angrily over at the prosecutors, even taking a huge sigh of seeming frustration,
On his way out of the hearing, he glared and made a comment to Palal, which could not be heard in the gallery
Kierny first granted Keefe bail based on a $750k fee on January 10.
Her ruling included Keefe disclosing full details on where the money prepped for his release would come from.
In July, she denied his first attempt at bail over uncertainty about the source of the bail bond supplied by rap entertainer Cash “Wack 100” Jones.
Prosecutors called out Jones and Keefe in court stating the pair had misled the judge over Jones’ motive for handing out $112,500 ball bond.
Since his summer 2023 arrest, prosectors have pushed for Keefe to remain behind bars before his trial suggesting he remains “a danger to the community” and alleged he’d discussed having a potential witness killed.
The state described Keefe as having a “reputation as a brutal gang leader” and being a “danger to the community.”
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