LAS VEGAS – A former Los Angeles-area gang leader was denied release from a Las Vegas prison ahead of his trial for the 1996 murder of music legend Tupac Shakur, despite an offer from a hip-hop music figure. to underwrite its $750,000 bond.
A Nevada judge rejected house arrest with electronic monitoring for Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 61, saying he was not satisfied with assurances that Davis and his alleged benefactor — Cash “Wack 100” Jones — did not plan to make profits from the sale. of Davis’ life story.
Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny said in her ruling issued Wednesday that a review of Jones’ financial records also did little to resolve her concerns that Jones might be a “’front’ or ‘middleman’ ‘ for the real headline poster.”
Davis sought release shortly after his death. arrest last September made him the only person accused of a crime in the murder, which attracted intense interest and speculation for 27 years.
Prosecutors allege that the Las Vegas shooting that killed Shakur resulted from competition between East Coast members of a Bloods sect of gangs and West Coast groups of a Crips sect, including Davis, for mastery in a musical genre known at the time as “gangsta rap”.
Davis has declared himself innocent to first-degree murder. His trial is scheduled for November 4th. If he is convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
After 45 minutes hearing on TuesdayKierny said she was left with more questions than answers after Davis’ legal team tried to demonstrate the source of the funds.
Prosecutors argued that Davis intended to benefit from retelling his story about Shakur’s murder and played a recording of a prison phone call in which Jones describes to Davis a plan to produce “30 to 40 episodes” of a show based on his story of life. .
“It is an illegal benefit to profit from this crime,” prosecutor Binu Palal told the judge. Palal did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday about the judge’s ruling.
Jones, a music executive who has managed hip-hop artists including Johnathan “Blueface” Porter and Jayceon “The Game” Taylor, gave sworn testimony Tuesday by video from an unspecified location in California.
He said he paid 15 percent of the bail amount, or $112,500, as “a gift” from his business accounts to secure Davis’ release.
A spokesman for Davis’ attorney, Carl Arnold, had no immediate comment when reached by email.
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Sonner reported from Reno, Nevada. Associated Press journalists Rio Yamat and Ty O’Neil in Las Vegas and Jonathan Landrum in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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