The LA gang enforcer accused of orchestrating Tupac Shakur’s murder is reportedly trying to cash in on his notorious connection to the killing with a Hollywood movie deal — even as his lawyers argue his supposed confessions were fabricated for “fame and fortune.”
Duane “Keefe D” Davis has been shopping his memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” as the basis for a feature film and discussing potential projects from behind bars, according to filmmaker Richard “R.J.” Bond, a longtime Davis supporter who has advocated for his acquittal.
Bond said the alleged negotiations could undercut the 63-year-old defendant’s central argument that his years of public admissions about the 1996 Las Vegas murder were exaggerated or invented to sell books and build his celebrity.
“It’s extremely disingenuous to make a claim that your book is fiction and still be trying to sell it as if a fact,” Bond told The Post.
“I have some concerns it may jeopardize his defense.”
The stunning criticism carries added weight because Bond has spent years in Davis’ corner, grown close to his family and even assisted attorney Mike Sanft with preparations for his defense.
“I have advocated for an acquittal for him for years,” Bond said. “It appears that his desperation and his motive to get paid far outweighs any loyalties that he has,” he continued.
When asked if his client was being “disingenuous,” Davis’ attorney, Mike Sanft, didn’t hold back.
“The danger is that conjecture and speculation will trump all the facts proven during trial. We trust the jury will discern between fact and fiction, and follow only the facts shown to them during the trial and nothing else,” he told The Post.
Last week The Post revealed exclusive audio submitted by prosecutors where Davis contradicted his own defense.
Davis confirmed to his mistress that he wrote his memoir — despite attorney Mike Sanft distancing himself from its contents — and teased he was ready to tell “the mother f—ing truth” about the murder.
Prosecutors have built their case largely around Davis’ own words, including two police interviews, media appearances and his memoir, in which he allegedly portrayed himself as the “shot caller” behind Shakur’s killing.
Davis now those prior admissions were simply for “fame and fortune” and did not have any legitimacy. He faces life in prison if convicted.
But the case lacks a murder weapon, direct eyewitness and other physical evidence tying Davis to Las Vegas that night, leaving legal experts divided over his chances at trial.
If acquitted, Nevada’s double-jeopardy protections would prevent the state from trying Davis again for the same crime — even if he later confessed, Las Vegas attorney Sam Mirejovsky said.
“Under double jeopardy laws, you can’t be prosecuted twice for the same crime by the same sovereign,” Mirejovsky said.
Davis’ murder trial kicked off in Las Vegas Monday.
