Tupac Shakur Murder Suspect Once Claimed Diddy Was Involved in Ordering Hit on Rapper and Suge Knight

In 2008 and 2009 police interviews, Tupac Shakur murder suspect Duane "Keefe D" Davis made claims about Sean "Diddy" Combs' involvement — which Combs has long denied

• Duane “Keefe D” Davis has been charged with the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur and pleaded not guilty

• Court filings include past police interviews in which Davis claimed Sean "Diddy" Combs was involved in ordering the hit on Shakur and rap mogul Suge Knight

• Combs has long denied any involvement in the shooting and Las Vegas police say he "has never been considered a suspect"

Nearly three decades ago, on the evening of Sept. 7, 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur was riding in the passenger seat of a black BMW driven by Death Row Records boss Marion “Suge” Knight. They passed the MGM Grand Hotel on their way to Las Vegas nightclub Club 662, run by the former rap music mogul.

A white Cadillac pulled up alongside their car at a red light a block from the Strip. According to Las Vegas prosecutors' account in new court filings, South Side Compton Crips member Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson didn’t have the right angle to shoot. He allegedly handed the semiautomatic firearm to gang member Deandre “Big Dre” Smith, who opened fire, mortally wounding Shakur and injuring Knight. (In another court filing in December, Anderson was described as the alleged shooter.)

Last fall, a suspect was finally charged with Shakur's murder: Duane “Keefe D” Davis, who prosecutors allege was the gang leader who orchestrated the killing and is the only person still alive who was allegedly in the car from which the shots were fired. A July 18 court filing from the Clark County District Attorney's office about Davis' bail includes a lengthy 2009 interview police conducted with Davis, a prior confidential informant for two years, about his role in the killing. (Davis has pleaded not guilty.)

Now the filing is making headlines due to its many references to another man: music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. In the interview, Davis was asked multiple times about Combs, then known as Puffy. Davis claimed Combs had said of Knight, "I'd give anything for that dude['s] head." Davis also claimed Combs was angry about Shakur taunting him.

In another past interview with authorities noted as part of the case, Davis more specifically claimed Combs solicited him to kill Knight and Shakur. The DEA and U.S. Department of Justice report about a 2008 interview with Davis says Davis claimed Combs said he "needed to get rid of Knight and Shakur" and offered Davis $1 million to "handle the problem."

Combs has long vehemently denied any role in the shooting, and a public information officer for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told PEOPLE on July 24, "Sean Combs has never been considered a suspect in the Tupac Shakur homicide investigation." He has never been charged in connection to the murder.

"This story is beyond ridiculous and completely false," Combs told AllHipHop.com in 2008 about a retracted Los Angeles Times story that claimed he had knowledge of Shakur's death. "Neither Biggie [Smalls, the late rapper] nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during or after it happened. It is a complete lie to suggest that there was any involvement by Biggie or myself."

In the days after the shooting, Shakur had his right lung removed at the University Medical Center in Vegas. He had been hit by four bullets, two of them to his chest. Knight was grazed in the head by a bullet fragment but suffered only minor injuries. Knight, 59, is now serving a 28-year sentence for manslaughter connected to the death of Compton businessman Terry Carter in an unrelated California case. At the hospital, Shakur remained on a respirator in intensive care. He died six days later, on Sept. 13. He was 25.

Despite widespread interest and speculation, the case went cold for many years, with few public pronouncements about its status until earlier last summer, when the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department reopened the investigation.

Related: Tupac Shakur's Death: Details of the Rapper's 1996 Murder and Ongoing Investigation

Davis — the uncle of Orlando Anderson, who later died following a gang shooting in 1998 — was one of the last living witnesses to the crime 28 years ago. Prosecutors now claim that Davis, 61, masterminded the killing as an act of revenge in an escalating gang feud involving his nephew. He was arrested on Sept. 29, 2023 and charged with the murder of Shakur.

Davis, who also detailed his alleged involvement in the killing in an interview for a BET documentary included in court filings and in his memoir, Compton Street Legend, pleaded not guilty.

Related: Suspect Arrested in Connection with Tupac Shakur's 1996 Murder

Davis' attorney, Carl Arnold, said in a statement: “The law states the accused cannot be convicted solely on the basis of his confession. The State must produce evidence that corroborates the confession, and that evidence must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," attorney Arnold added. "Moreover, the public has been well aware of a myriad of reasons why an accused will confess to a crime. We look forward to Mr. Davis being found not guilty at the conclusion of his trial. Lastly, Mr. Davis anticipates being bailed out shortly so he can assist with the preparation of his defense.”

However, Davis has been denied bail and his trial is scheduled for Nov. 4.

Meanwhile, the 179-page filing last week, submitted by prosecutors in response to Davis seeking reconsideration of his bail conditions, includes many details of Davis' past claims.

Hours before the shooting, according to the latest court filing, Knight and members of his Blood-affiliated gang, Mob Piru, had watched Mike Tyson knock out Bruce Selden at a boxing title match at MGM Grand. Afterward, the gang members ran into rival Anderson — who was affiliated with Bad Boy Records, then headed by Combs — in the casino. They recognized him as a person who tried to steal a Death Row necklace from Travon "Tre" Lane during an earlier brawl.

According to Davis in his 2009 interview with police, Shakur, Knight and Lane attacked Anderson, punching and kicking him and knocking his arm out of its socket.

According to grand jury testimony cited in the filing, Davis allegedly said he “commanded” his soldiers (Anderson, Smith and driver Terry Brown) to “confront Knight and Shakur and hunt them down.” Davis, who was riding in the passenger seat at the time of the shooting allegedly said he gave his gang members the “ultimate green light to do something to their asses.”

Davis added, according to the filing: “Tupac chose the wrong game to play and the wrong n----s to play with."

Related: Arrest Video of Tupac Shakur Murder Suspect Shows Him Saying It's 'Biggest Case in Las Vegas History'

In the 2009 police interview, Davis said he obtained a .40- caliber Glock firearm from drug trafficking associate Eric “Zip” Martin.

Homicide detective Dan Long asked Davis, “Um, Puffy Combs. Does he play a role in this thing?”

“Yeah, I think he did,” Davis responded. “That’s what we think. That’s word on the street.”

In the voluntary interview, Davis recalled that Diddy was terrified of Knight. Davis claimed that in front of a group of about 45 men, Combs allegedly said, "Man, ah, I would give anything for that dude['s] head," referring to Knight. "He was real scared of the guy," Davis continued. "He said that s--- in front of everybody."

“Was [Combs] implying that he would pay to have it done?” Davis' attorney asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Davis responded. “He said it.”

During the 1995 Source Awards in New York City, Knight took a moment on stage to dis Diddy without calling him out by name. “Any artist out there that want to be an artist and stay a star, and don’t have to worry about the executive producer trying to be all in the videos, all on the record, dancing… come to Death Row!” he said. Knight mocked Diddy for inserting his ad-libs on Bad Boy artists’ songs and shimmying throughout their videos.

“It was real embarrassing the way he did it,” Davis said in his recorded statement to police. “[Diddy] was real scared of [Knight]. He didn’t even want to come out here [to California]. Davis admitted Knight probably would have tried to kill Diddy if he'd had the chance.

“Did Puffy have any problems with Tupac?” Detective Long asked Davis in 2009.

“[Tupac] told [Diddy] he’s a f----t and all that s---." Davis replied, claiming Combs had said, ‘Yeah, f--- that dude.'"

After Shakur was ambushed and shot five times in the lobby of Quad Studios in Times Square in 1994, he blamed Combs and the Bad Boy crew for setting him up, which Combs has always denied. Combs released Biggie's single “Who Shot Ya?” a year later, which was widely viewed as taking aim at Shakur, who responded with the vicious “Hit ’Em Up,” pushing their rivalry to the brink.

According to a grand jury exhibit cited in the prosecutors' filing, Combs allegedly asked Davis after Shakur’s murder, “Is that us?” The filing states: “Sean Combs reached out to defendant [Davis] wondering if South Side Crips were responsible for Shakur’s death. Defendant, beaming with pride, answers, ‘Yes.’”

After the shooting, Davis claimed Combs owed him and his crew money. “I knew we was like, ‘Damn, we can get paid now,’” Davis said to police in 2009.

A few months later, Davis said he met Martin at a hot wings restaurant in Los Angeles. Although Davis claimed he had plenty of money back then, he wanted his nephew Anderson and his crew to get paid.

Davis claimed Martin told him that he would check with Combs and have the money sent to them, but Martin never followed through.

Related: Nearly 3 Decades Later, Tupac Shakur's Murder Investigation Is Reopened

“I wish I never met Puff Daddy, period, I swear to God,” Davis said to police in 2009. “He messed up my life, man. I was rich, up under the radar, all that, man. It’s all gone.”

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