Tupac murder investigation: Police seize hard drives and laptops at house
Las Vegas police have seized hard drives and laptops from a home as part of the investigation into the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.
Police searched a house in the Henderson suburb – the same area where the rapper was gunned down in September 1996. The home belongs to 60-year-old Duane Keith Davis, who has publicly said he was in the car with the gunman who killed Shakur.
According to BBC News, the search warrant showed that police were looking for “notes, writings, ledgers, and other handwritten or typed documents concerning television shows, documentaries, YouTube episodes, book manuscripts, and movies concerning the murder of Tupac Shakur”.
The warrant was approved by Clark County Judge Jacqueline M. Bluth, who also authorized police to seize any items that could tie Davis to the Southside Crips, a Compton street gang.
According to the warrant, authorities seized three iPads, six computers, an iPhone, a hard drive, eleven .40-caliber cartridges, a copy of Davis’ book, suspected marijuana, a copy of documentary materials and two boxes of photos as well as a Vibe Magazine that featured Shakur.
Davis’ 2019 book, Compton Street Legend: Notorious Keffe D’s Street-Level Accounts of Tupac and Biggie Murders, Death Row Origins, Suge Knight, Puffy Combs, and Crooked Cops, detailed Shakur’s death as he saw it from within the gunman’s car.
“Tupac made an erratic move and began to reach down beneath his seat,” Davis writes in the book. “It was the first and only time in my life that I could relate to the police command, ‘Keep your hands where I can see them.’ Instead, Pac pulled out a strap, and that’s when the fireworks started. One of my guys from the back seat grabbed the Glock and started bustin’ back.”
On Tuesday, July 17, A statement issued by Las Vegas police revealed that they are still investigating the unsolved murder.
“LVMPD can confirm a search warrant was served in Henderson, Nevada on July 17, 2023, as part of the ongoing Tupac Shakur homicide investigation,” read a statement issued by the Las Vegas police (via BBC). “We will have no further comment at this time.”
Shakur – going by 2Pac – first emerged onto the music scene in 1991, with the release of his debut album ‘2Pacalypse Now’, which saw him shed light on the social issues he saw across America, including racism, poverty, police brutality and teen pregnancy.
Later in his career, he would go on to sell 75million records worldwide, and enjoy chart success with hits including ‘Hit ‘Em Up’, ‘California Love’, ‘Changes’ and ‘All Eyez On Me’.
He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2017, over two decades after his death.
In other Tupac news, last month it was reported that Tupac‘s biological father, Billy Garland, was disappointed in the recent Hulu docu-series, Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni & Tupac Shakur.
“Allen Hughes [director] asked me to do an interview…He didn’t tell me anything about Dear Mama. He didn’t tell me too much about anything other than it was about Tupac… I denied him at first.,” he said. “I didn’t like [Dear Mama], to be honest with you. It was more about something else than [it was] about Tupac.”
Additionally, Tupac’s sister responded to comments comparing Tupac to Donald Trump, describing the insinuations as “blasphemous”.