Duane Keith “Keffe D” Davis’ trial for the murder of 2Pac reached a dramatic end on Monday (Aug. 31), which could open the path for prosecutors to seek criminal charges against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, too.
Diddy is currently serving 50 months in federal prison, but he could face more charges following the outcome of Keffe D’s trial. Diddy has long faced accusations that he was somehow involved with the drive-by shooting on Pac in Las Vegas in 1996 that took the rapper’s life, especially because of his well-known beef with Pac and other West Coast rappers.
Keffe D, in his 2019 memoir Compton Street Legend, claimed that Diddy ordered the drive-by shooting on Pac that claimed his life. Keffe D has maintained his innocence, despite also claiming he was in the car from which the fatal bullet was fired. Diddy hasn’t been directly implicated in the killing, but legal sources previously told the Telegraph that Diddy could face charges following the guilty verdict.
Why would Diddy face charges?
The prosecution’s case against Keffe D was based on claims he made in interviews, his 2019 memoir, and what he told police in a secret recording from 2008. In that recording, he accused Diddy of offering him $1 million to kill 2Pac. A source familiar with the district attorney’s office suggested that a guilty verdict could give “a green light to take action against Diddy.”
Essentially, the potential of new charges hinges on whether Keffe D’s claims about the murder were to be found to be true; that’s reason enough to believe his statements about Diddy offering a hit could be credible.
“The door remains open on what charges could be made against Diddy. But if the jury convicts Davis, then it gives a green light to take action against Diddy,” a Clark County district attorney’s office source told The Telegraph last month. “The strategy has remained to not bring in matters relating to Combs’s alleged role in all of these matters at this stage, because it would likely confuse the case and perhaps a jury.”
The evidence is light, but there’s potential for a case there if prosecutors choose to follow through with it. Diddy has repeatedly denied having any involvement in the murder, and former investigators testified in court that they were unable to verify Keffe D’s claims about Diddy.
What did prosecutors accuse Keffe D of?
Prosecutors alleged that Keffe D was part of a group of people who targeted Pac in the Las Vegas drive-by that took his life in 1996. They argued that the hit was retaliation for the assault of Keffe D’s nephew, Orlando Anderson, the same night of the shooting. Keffe D was accused of bragging about his involvement in the murder.
What was the verdict in the Keffe D trial?
On Monday (Aug. 31), a Las Vegas jury found Keffe D guilty of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further, or assist a criminal. He is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Why did Diddy and 2Pac have beef?
2Pac survived a shooting at a studio in New York City in 1994, and later suggested that Diddy and his then-signee the Notorious B.I.G. set him up. When Biggie released the song “Who Shot Ya?,” widely viewed as a provocation against Pac, the beef further intensified. (Big always insisted that the song was recorded before the studio shooting). The beef resulted in several dust-ups on record.
What other claims are there about Diddy’s alleged involvement?
Former FBI agent Phil Carson, who worked on the investigation into the murder of the Notorious B.I.G., has suggested that associates of Diddy have inside knowledge about 2Pac’s murder.
“There are people out there that have information regarding the Tupac murder, and they were close to Tupac, and they’re close to Diddy, and if they have information that they could provide law enforcement to help them possibly prosecute Diddy and provide information regarding the Tupac murder,” he said.
