LAS VEGAS (AP) 鈥� The man charged with murder in the 1996 killing of knew the gravity of his arrest last week near his home on the outskirts of Las Vegas, according to police body camera footage released Friday.
鈥淪o what they got you for, man?鈥� an officer asks Duane 鈥淜effe D" Davis.
鈥淏iggest case in Las Vegas history,鈥� Davis says, recounting the date that Shakur was gunned down 鈥� 鈥淪eptember 7th, 1996.鈥�
Police and prosecutors allege Davis was the mastermind behind the drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip that killed Shakur at the age of 25.
Now, more than 27 years later, Davis was handcuffed around the wrists and in ankle shackles in the backseat of Las Vegas police car headed toward a county jail, where he remains held without bond.
鈥淚 ain鈥檛 worried," Davis told the officer. "I ain鈥檛 did (expletive).鈥�
The police videos, totaling more than an hour of footage, show Davis arrested around sunrise on Sept. 29 while walking in his otherwise quiet neighborhood.
鈥淗ey, Keffe. Metro Police,鈥� an officer said. 鈥淐ome over here.鈥�
Davis, holding a water bottle, cooperated as he was patted down and handcuffed next to an unmarked police vehicle.
The 60-year-old had been a long-known suspect in the case. He publicly admitted his role in the killing in interviews ahead of his 2019 tell-all memoir, 鈥淐ompton Street Legend.鈥� His arrest came two months after police , renewing interest in one of hip-hop鈥檚 most enduring mysteries.
In the videos, Davis recalled the July 17 raid and peeking over a gate at the same time as a SWAT officer. He said his arrest that morning was much more low-key.
As they drove on the freeway en route to police headquarters to interview Davis, he asks if he was followed the previous night. The officer says no.
鈥淪o why you all didn鈥檛 bring the media?鈥� Davis said.
The officer asked why police would bring the media.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what you all do," Davis said.
The self-described gangster from Compton, California, hasn鈥檛 yet entered a plea in the case, and he denied a request from The Associated Press for an interview at the jail. His longtime lawyer in Los Angeles, Edi Faal, told AP he has no comment on Davis' behalf.
Davis told police that he had moved to the Las Vegas area in January because of his wife's job. But the audio is redacted when police later ask him what he has been doing since the move.
In an indictment unsealed last Friday in Clark County District Court, Davis is accused of orchestrating the killing of Shakur and providing his nephew, Orlando 鈥淏aby Lane鈥� Anderson, with the gun to do it. Anderson, who denied involvement in Shakur's killing, died in 1998.
Grand jurors also voted to add sentencing enhancements for the use of a deadly weapon and alleged gang activity. If Davis is convicted, that could add decades to his sentence.
In Nevada, a person can be convicted of murder for helping another person commit the crime.
Davis' this week was cut short when he asked the judge for a postponement while he retains counsel in Las Vegas. He's due in court again Oct. 19.
Authorities say Shakur鈥檚 killing stemmed from a rivalry and competition for dominance in a musical genre that, at the time, was dubbed 鈥済angsta rap.鈥� It pitted West Coast members of a Crips sect that Davis has said he led in Compton against East Coast members of a Bloods gang sect associated with rap music mogul Marion 鈥淪uge鈥� Knight, founder of Death Row Records, the music label representing Shakur at the time of his death.
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Antczak reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona, contributed.
Rio Yamat And John Antczak, The Associated Press
