Tupac murder suspect files motion to dismiss homicide case

Tupac Shakur murder suspect, Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, has filed a motion to dismiss his homicide case.

According to The Associated Press, the request to dismiss the indictment arrives ahead of a trial that's due to take place in March.

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In a new motion filed on Monday, January 6, the 61-year-old suspect alleges that prosecutors have violated his constitutional rights because of a "decades-long" delay in prosecution. A hearing on the new dismissal is set for January 21.

The motion also claims that authorities have failed to honour previous immunity agreements and to produce corroborating evidence to support what Davis describes as his "coerced confession", as per Rolling Stone.

Davis's lawyer, Carl Arnold, noted in the filing that "too many witnesses have died", citing the deaths of Orlando 'Baby Lane' Anderson, Davis's nephew, and two other men who were allegedly involved in the killing.

Additionally, according to Rolling Stone, Mr Arnold claimed that the unavailability of other key witnesses, such as rapper and record executive Sean 'Diddy' Combs and music mogul Marion 'Suge' Knight, were damaging to Davis's defence.

Tupac was 25 years old when he was shot four times in a drive-by shooting while waiting at a red light in Nevada city on September 7, 1996. The hip hop legend died in hospital six days later on September 13.

According to CNN, Davis, a former gang leader from Compton in California, confessed to his role in the rapper's death to police in 2009.

As per Rolling Stone, Davis wrote about his part in Tupac's killing in his memoir, Compton Street Legend, which came out in 2019, and bragged about the killing in subsequent interviews. According to The Associated Press, Mr Arnold later said his client had lied "to make money from the story".

Davis was eventually arrested in 2023 by Las Vegas police on September 29. Authorities claimed that the suspect had planned the shooting with his nephew following a fight with Tupac in a Las Vegas casino.

Davis has since pleaded not guilty to the charge of first-degree murder.

Henrietta Taylor is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter