‘More questions than answers’: Judge declines release of suspect in Tupac killing

A judge on Tuesday declined to release a man accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who has been indicted on a murder charge, is being held at the Clark County Detention Center on $750,000 bail. Last week, court documents indicated that Davis had found a bond company, E-Bail, that was willing to post bond.

When District Judge Carli Kierny set the bail in January, the judge ordered him to be under house arrest with high-level electronic monitoring if he posted it.

Kierny said at the start of a Tuesday hearing that she wanted to ensure that the bond was not posted with proceeds from talking about the slaying of Shakur. At the end of the hearing, she said, “I’m left with more questions than answers.”

She said she expected to issue a final decision after reviewing bank records from the man who provided the money for the bond.

Under questioning from Davis’ attorney, Carl Arnold, a man named Cash Jones testified that he paid a $112,500 bond premium, which represented 15 percent of the total bail. He said he manages artists and that the money came from his entertainment business.

“He’s always been a monumental guy in our community,” Jones said of Davis.

On cross-examination from Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal, Jones said the money was a gift for Davis, with no repayment obligation. Although he said he considered Davis a friend, he said, “I definitely want him to be on house arrest to protect myself.”

Jones said the two had discussed working on a project together.

Palal said that a recorded jail visit between Davis and his wife, Paula Clemons, included a comment from Davis that suggested Jones was a middle man for someone who owned a movie company.

Arnold questioned Davis about the visit. Davis said he had only made those comments because his wife didn’t like Jones.

Davis, who said he has colon cancer, testified that he erroneously thought he’d have to get his wife’s signature in order to be released.

Palal asked Davis if he had lied to his wife to get her signature, and Davis said he had.

The prosecutor also played audio from a podcast interview Jones conducted with an online media company in which he said, “I’m thinking about going and getting him with stipulations I do a series on him.”

Jones said the purpose of that interview was entertainment, not the truth. And he said he did not have a contract or TV deal with Davis.

Kierny said the defense did not show the bail was unrelated to discussions about Shakur’s slaying. She said she would review bank records provided by Jones before issuing an order.

At a media briefing after the hearing, Arnold said Davis had made no contract or agreement for movie rights or a book deal. Asked about promises for doing those things later, Arnold said, “I wouldn’t say promises. I’d say discussions.”

As for the comments played in court from Davis to his wife, Arnold said, “My client’s a liar. He lies to his wife.”

But there were two things he didn’t lie about, Arnold said: his cancer and that nothing nefarious was going on with Jones.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.