Sandra
Former Los Angeles-area gang leader charged with orchestrating the killing of hip-hop icon, Tupac Shakur, had a postponed bail hearing in Las Vegas on Tuesday. The delay was due to defense attorneys needing time to respond to prosecutors’ allegations that witnesses may be at risk.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ court-appointed attorneys sought the delay to respond to prosecutors’ allegations, filed last week, that jail telephone recordings and a list of names provided to Davis’ family members show that Davis poses a threat to the public if he is released.
No court hearing was held on Tuesday. One of Davis’ attorneys, Robert Arroyo, said the defense wanted to respond in court in writing without providing details. Arroyo said last week he did not see evidence that any witness had been named or threatened.
Davis is the only person ever charged with a crime in the drive-by shooting that also wounded rap music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight. Davis has pleaded not guilty and is due for trial in June on a murder charge. He has remained jailed without bail since his arrest.
Davis is now housed at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas, where detainees’ phone calls are routinely recorded. If convicted at trial, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Prosecutors say Davis’ son told him about a “green light” authorization in a jail call in October. Their court filing made no reference to Davis instructing anyone to harm someone, or to anyone associated with the case being physically harmed.
“In (Davis’) world, a ‘green light’ is an authorization to kill,” prosecutors told Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny in the court document, adding that at least one witness was provided assistance from federal authorities “so he could change his residence.”
Prosecutors also point to Davis’ own words since 2008 — in police interviews, in his 2019 tell-all memoir and in the media — that they say provides strong evidence that he orchestrated the September 1996 shooting.
Davis maintains that he was given immunity from prosecution in 2008 by FBI agents and Los Angeles police who were investigating the killings of Shakur in Las Vegas and rival rapper Christopher Wallace.
Davis’ bail hearing is now scheduled for Jan. 9.
See Court Photos..
