NEW YORK — The charge of a former gang leader with the murder of Tupac Shakur 1996 is a “pivotal moment”, the late rapper sister’s said.
The New York-born hip-hop legend was shot four times aged 25 in a drive-by attack in Las Vegas.
On Friday, Nevada’s grand jury indicted Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 60, on one count of murder with a deadly weapon.
Sekyiwa Shakur said that “today is a victory” but “reserved judgment” until legal proceedings were complete.
“It’s important to me that the world, the country, the justice system, and our people acknowledge the gravity of the passing of this man, my brother, my mother’s son, my father’s son,” she posted on Instagram.
“There have been multiple hands involved and there remains so much surrounding the life and death of my brother Tupac and our Shakur family overall. We are seeking real justice, on all fronts,” she continued.
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Mopreme Shakur, Shakur’s step-brother, said the charging of Davis was bittersweet. “We have been through decades of pain,” he told CNN. “They have known about this guy, who been running his mouth, for years.
“So why now? For us, this is not over. We want to know why, and if there were any accomplices.”
Police say Davis planned the deadly shooting after his nephew was involved in a fight with Shakur in a casino.
Davis was arrested near his Las Vegas home early on Friday, and will appear in court within days. Las Vegas police (LVMPD) have shared his mugshot.
In court, prosecutor Marc DiaGiacomo described Davis — a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang — as the “on-ground, on-site commander” who “ordered the death” of Shakur.
At a news conference later on Friday, police officer Jason Johansson said it became obvious very quickly that this was a gang-related crime, and the case had been reviewed multiple times.
But it was not until 2018, when new information came to light, that the case was “reinvigorated”.
Johansson also mentioned Davis’s “own admissions” to media outlets that he was in the vehicle where the shots were fired from.
Shakur was shot in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996. He died in hospital a few days later.
Shakur, whose stage name was stylized as 2Pac, released his debut album in 1991.
One of the most acclaimed names in hip-hop, his death inspired several documentaries.
He sold more than 75 million records worldwide, enjoying chart success with hits including California Love, All Eyez On Me and Changes.
Shakur also found success acting in films like Juice, Poetic Justice, Above The Rim, Gridlock’d and Gang Related.
In June this year the rapper received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. — BBC