Sean “Diddy” Combs could face charges linked to the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur following a new trial, legal sources have suggested.
Three decades after Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas at the height of his fame in 1996, Duane “Keffe D” Davis is on trial
for allegedly plotting the killing as part of an escalating war between two LA gangs.
The prosecution’s case hinges on Davis’ own claims to police, in documentary interviews and a memoir, that he sought out Shakur after his nephew was targeted as part of a rival gang feud.
They also allege that he was in the white Cadillac from which the fatal bullet was fired, and that he “tossed” the gun to the rapper’s killer.
During a secret recording made by police in 2008, Davis apparently described how he and other members of the South Side Compton Crips gang hunted down and shot Shakur in 1996.
In that secret recording – which has been entered into evidence in his trial – Davis also apparently alleged that Combs, currently serving a 50-month jail sentence for federal prostitution charges, offered him US$1m ($1.69m) to kill Shakur.
If prosecutors manage to convict Davis, “it gives a green light to take action against Diddy”, a source close to the district attorney’s office told The Telegraph. Davis is insisting the claims he made were to gain fame and notoriety – and are not true.
Prosecutors allege that Shakur was killed in retaliation for the rapper and his entourage beating up Davis’ nephew, Orlando Anderson, earlier that night, and that Davis’ bragging about his involvement in the killing of the rapper is true.
Combs has previously described the allegations as “pure fiction and completely ridiculous”.
The long-running feud between Combs and Shakur in the 90s largely stems from an armed robbery in which Shakur was shot. He believed he had been set up by Combs and his associates.
If a jury believes that Davis was telling the truth about his role in the killing, his conviction could add credence to his claims about Combs’ involvement and apparent offer.
A Clark County district attorney’s office source said: “The door remains open on what charges could be made against Diddy. But if the jury convicts Davis, then it gives a green light to take action against Diddy.
“The strategy has remained to not bring in matters relating to Combs’ alleged role in all of these matters at this stage, because it would likely confuse the case and perhaps a jury.”
Michael Sanft, Davis’ defence attorney, argued during his opening statement on Monday that the reason his client wasn’t charged earlier over his admissions was that investigators knew “he was full of crap”.
At one point, he pulled up a slide which read “Bulls***” and said: “Keffe D was known to do [exaggerate].”
