Tupac murder suspect denied new trial on unrelated jailhouse fight convictions

LAS VEGAS (CN) — One by one, jurors who convicted a man accused of the Tupac Shakur slaying of an unrelated jailhouse fight took the witness stand on Wednesday.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, convicted of battery by a prisoner and challenges to fight, had sought a new trial because of juror misconduct. His son and a Tupac documentarian said they heard a juror discuss the case in a courtroom hallway, claiming he told a little guy in jail that he must work harder to maintain his reputation. That misconduct warranted a new trial.

All 13 jurors and alternates testified they never discussed the case outside deliberations, never heard others do so, and never heard anyone make the claim about a little guy in jail.

After a morning hearing, Clark County Judge Nadia Krall found the jurors’ testimony more credible than that of Davis’ son and the documentarian. She denied the motion for a new trial and set Davis’ sentencing for Aug. 7.

“This is a very important alleged comment that, if made, would have triggered someone’s memory,” she said of the jurors.

The jury convicted Davis in April in connection with the jailhouse fight. Set for sentencing in May, his attorney argued that juror misconduct had occurred and secured a hearing on Wednesday.

At the hearing, Richard Bond, a self-described journalist and Tupac documentarian, testified he heard a juror discussing the case in a courtroom hallway before the verdict.

Bond testified that a juror, speaking to a group that included media, said a little man in a jailhouse fight must work harder to keep his reputation. Bond and Duane Davis Jr., who was with him, reported the comment to a deputy marshal, who told them to inform the defense attorney. Davis Jr. also testified he heard the juror make the same remark.

Under questioning by Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo, Bond said he pays his sources. He’s put money on Davis Sr.’s jail account and given money to his son.

“I have not taken a class in journalistic ethics,” Bond said in answer to one question.

Bond also testified that in a jailhouse call, he said he would help Davis Sr. in any way he could.

DiGiacomo also questioned Bond and Davis Jr. about the opportunities they had to inform defense attorney Carl Arnold about what they had heard. A video shows Davis Jr. speaking to Arnold’s son outside the courtroom. Davis Jr. said that’s likely when he mentioned the juror misconduct.

However, a deputy marshal testified that the men didn’t tell him about the comment until after the trial.

Stephen Berkley, the juror who supposedly made the comment, firmly denied making the comment and told a local reporter the same, adding he was unaware of Davis’ connection to rapper Shakur at the time.

“I did not have a discussion about the case,” Berkley said. “I did not say anything about the case. I did not say that.”

DiGiacomo then called the other jurors and alternate jurors, with each taking only moments on the witness stand. Each one testified that they upheld their oath, said nothing about the case publicly and never heard another juror say anything about it.

The judge denied the motion immediately after closing arguments, citing the marshal’s testimony that the misconduct report came after the trial, the jurors’ credibility and the close ties between Davis Jr., Bond and Davis Sr.

Davis Sr. faces two to 12 years on the jailhouse fight charges, which are unrelated to accusations he faces in the Shakur slaying.

He’s pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in that death. In a memoir, Davis said he was in a car with his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, when Anderson shot and killed Shakur near the Las Vegas Strip in 1996.

Anderson denied involvement in the fatal shooting. He died in a 1998 Compton, California, shooting.

Authorities have said Shakur’s death stemmed from a gang dispute between the East Coast Bloods and West Coast Crips.

Davis’ murder trial is set for February 2026.