LAS VEGAS (AP) — A book co-written by the man who prosecutors allege ordered the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur can be used in trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.
The defense attorney for Duane “Keffe D” Davis tried to bar the 2019 memoir “Compton Street Legend” from being used in trial, which is scheduled to begin Aug. 10, as well as statements Davis had made to police in 2008 and 2009.
Davis, 63, faces one charge of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in the drive-by shooting of the rapper in Las Vegas.
Shakur was in a black BMW on Sept. 7, 1996, in Las Vegas with Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight when a white Cadillac pulled up beside them at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip, and gunfire erupted. Shakur was shot multiple times and died six days later, while Knight survived with minor injuries.
Shakur’s death is considered one of the most notorious unsolved murders in the United States. The case had gone cold until Davis began making public statements about it, including in a book he co-wrote in which he said he was in the Cadillac and provided the weapon used to shoot Shakur. The book revived detectives’ investigation, and Davis was arrested in September 2023. Davis pleaded not guilty.
The state’s case hinges on the book Davis co-authored about his time in the gang South Side Compton Crips and statements he made in YouTube interviews.
Michael Sanft, his attorney, argued that the book was fictionalized to make a profit, and that it was unclear which parts — if any — Davis actually wrote. He also argued that statements Davis made to police in 2008 and 2009 should not be used in trial because Davis thought he had immunity due to a proffer agreement that allowed him to speak to detectives without being prosecuted.
Judge Carli Kierny determined that Davis adopted the statements in the book as his own, regardless if he wrote the whole book. She said he made multiple statements describing the book as the “real truth.” She also found the statements he made to law enforcement to be voluntary, but expressed concern that Davis was told in 2008 that he would not be prosecuted for what he said in the interview.
Marc DiGiacomo, chief deputy district attorney in Clark County, said those interviews were no longer considered inadmissible when Davis chose to write and speak about the events. The state has the right to prove that what Davis wrote is true by using those interviews, he said.
“Had he decided to never write the book, he would not, probably, have ever been prosecuted for the crime,” DiGiacomo said.
Rapper Tupac Shakur attends a voter registration event in South Central Los Angeles on Aug. 15, 1996, left, and Duane "Keffe D" Davis appears in District Court for his involvement in the 1996 killing of Shakur in Las Vegas on Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo)
ATLANTA (AP) — Matt Olson hit two home runs, Michael Harris II added a two-run shot, and Ozzie Albies also homered as the Atlanta Braves cranked up their power game to beat the New York Mets 5-3 on Friday night.
The Braves lead second-place Philadelphia in the NL East by three games despite entering the four-game series with a 5-14 record since June 9.
New York dropped 16 games under .500 for the first time since 2018. The most games under .500 for a team that reached the postseason was 16 by the 1914 Boston Braves at 12-28, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Braves reclaimed their power stroke with the four homers. They had not hit as many as three homers in a game since a 5-2 win at Cincinnati on May 30.
Ronald Acuña Jr., who has been out since June 10 with a left hamstring strain, had two of the homers in the May 30 game. The Braves' downturn has overlapped his time on the injured list.
Atlanta signed Andrew McCutchen to a minor league deal in their ongoing search for offense.
Juan Soto hit a two-run homer for the Mets.
Braves right-hander Grant Holmes (5-4) allowed five hits and two runs, one earned, in five innings. Raisel Iglesias gave up a run-scoring single to Bo Bichette in the ninth before earning his 17th save.
Mets right-hander Christian Scott (2-1) gave up three runs on two hits and four walks in four innings.
The Mets, in last place in the NL East, have lost 10 of 12.
Interim manager Andy Green tweaked his lineup. Carson Benge, who had been the leadoff hitter in every game since May 12, hit fifth and had one hit. A.J. Ewing was the leadoff hitter for the first time this season. Ewing reached on a fielding error by Olson at first base and scored on Soto's homer to left field in the third inning.
Atlanta's Chris Sale was scheduled to face New York's Sean Manaea (1-3, 4.71) in a matchup of left-handers Saturday night.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
New York Mets' Juan Soto (22) reacts in the dugout with a Spiderman mask after hitting a tying two-run home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Grant Holmes delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
New York Mets pitcher Christian Scott delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
New York Mets' Juan Soto watches his tying two-run home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
Atlanta Braves' Michael Harris II (23) reacts with Dominic Smith, right, after hitting a two-run home run in the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
