Family launches fundraiser for bail of Duane “Keffe D” Davis

David Charns and Vanessa Murphy

5 hours ago

Duane “Keffe D” Davis appears in court Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, in Las Vegas. Davis was charged with killing Tupac Shakur in 1996. (AP Photo/John Locher, Pool)

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The family of the man accused of orchestrating the murder of Tupac Shakur has launched a fundraiser to raise bail money and secure his release from Las Vegas jail while he awaits trial.

Keith Davis, the son of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, told 8 News Now investigators that he started an online fundraiser called “Free Keefe Davis” that places blame on the criminal justice system.

Davis, 61, has been in custody since his arrest on Sept. 29, 2023. In January, Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny set Davis' bail at $750,000. Davis refers to himself as “Keffe D,” not “Keefe,” as the website says, although he is sometimes referred to as “Keefe D” or “Keefy D.” Prosecutors spell his name as “Keffe D.”

In June, Kierny refused to release Davis from jail pending trial after another man, Cash Jones, posted his bail. Jones, an entertainment executive who also goes by the name “Wack 100,” posted 15% of Davis' $750,000 bail, the amount required to post bail through a bail bond agency.

Over the course of two hearings, Kierny said she was concerned that Jones' bail payment was a de facto contract for future interviews. She gave Davis and his attorney, Carl Arnold, several opportunities to provide more documentation about the source of the bail. Later, prosecutors alleged that a person seeking Davis' bail may have committed a crime by providing false documentation.

“I feel like there is an attempt to cover things up, and that is ultimately because of what is presented to me,” Kierny said when he refused bail for a second time in August.

“We only need $75,000 and have a reputable bail bond company to help us post the bail that this judge cannot refuse,” the online fundraiser said. “Judge Kierny continues to use arbitrary and circumstantial requirements to deny bail to Mr. Duane 'Keefe' Davis.”

Davis has publicly stated that before the September 1996 shooting near the Las Vegas Strip, he was in the passenger seat of the car that pulled up next to Shakur's car. Marion “Suge” Knight, then head of Death Row Records, was driving the car while Shakur was in the passenger seat. Knight was injured in the shooting. Shakur died of his injuries a few days later.

“He had his bail paid by a generous benefactor and she would not acknowledge the legitimacy of that person's business but questioned the motive behind that generosity,” the fundraiser said. “The person's motive should never have been legally considered by Judge Kierny, only the legitimacy of the business.”

The online fundraiser encourages anonymous donations.

“We have seen these games with hidden agendas and moving targets time and time again when it comes to minorities and the underprivileged,” the online fundraiser said. “Let's beat the system at its own game!”

Davis and his son made their views on the elder Davis' rights clear in court. Arnold had previously told 8 News Now investigators not to trust his client.

Davis' trial is scheduled to begin in March. If Kierny releases him on bail, he would have to remain under house arrest until the trial.

8 News Now investigators first reported on developments in the Shakur murder case last summer.