The individual accused of allegedly orchestrating the 1996 fatal shooting of hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas is now requesting that the Nevada Supreme Court throw out the alleged murder charges against him. According to ABC News, Duane “Keffe D” Davis submitted an appeal on Tuesday, challenging a lower court decision that upheld the charges. 

Davis, who is 62 years old, is the only person to ever be formally charged in connection with Shakur’s killing. He was taken into custody in September 2023. The other alleged participants in the drive-by shooting have since passed away. His defense attorney, Carl Arnold, argues that Davis’ constitutional protections have been violated.

“Mr. Davis cooperated with law enforcement over the course of more than a decade, relying on repeated assurances that his statements would not be used against him — yet those very statements now form the core of the State’s case,” Arnold stated.

Arnold initially filed a motion to dismiss the charges in January 2025, citing an alleged violation of due process due to a 27-year delay in filing the case. He also contends that Davis had been granted immunity agreements by both federal and local agencies.

However, a district judge ruled that Davis did not provide valid evidence of such immunity and determined that the lengthy delay in prosecution was not deliberate. In the appeal, Davis’ legal team claims he participated in interviews in 1998 and 1999 under the understanding that he wouldn’t be prosecuted based on his statements. 

At that time, he reportedly denied any knowledge of the individuals responsible for Shakur’s death. Later, in 2008 and 2009, Davis allegedly detailed his alleged involvement in the shooting and named the suspected gunman, again while under the impression that he had immunity, according to the appeal.

Arnold argues that prosecutors lack sufficient evidence to proceed, relying entirely on Davis’ own words, which he claims should be inadmissible. He has asked the state’s highest court to either drop the charges or officially recognize the immunity Davis believed he had been granted.

Davis continues to be held at the Clark County Detention Center. His trial is currently set to begin in February 2026.