LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Lawyers for the man accused of killing iconic rapper Tupac Shakur say a judge should toss out evidence against him seized in an unnecessary, unjustified nighttime search of his home, according to recent court filings.
High-profile criminal defense attorney Robert Draskovich of Las Vegas filed a 24-page motion to suppress evidence against his client, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, on Dec. 22, in Clark County District Court.
Davis is accused of orchestrating the shooting death of Shakur. He had previously claimed he was in the car with the person who shot Shakur and record executive Suge Knight near the Las Vegas Strip in September 1996.
Davis was indicted on a charge of murder with a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement in September 2023.
“When officers obtain nighttime authorization through bad faith, courts agree suppression is appropriate,” the motion says, requesting that the judge, at the very least, hold a hearing on the matter. “Bad faith is evident from the face of the affidavit supporting the search warrant.”
The motion contends that a police affidavit in support of the nighttime search should have been deemed insufficient to get the warrant.
“First, the court unwittingly relied on a misleading portrait of Davis as a dangerous drug dealer—when in fact his drug convictions were [25] years old and he was now a [60]-year-old retired cancer survivor that had lived quietly in the same Henderson home for nearly a decade,” the motion reads. “Second, the court overlooked the case-specific urgency or safety concerns Nevada law requires to justify nighttime searches, accepting instead generic safety theories that would apply to virtually any search of any home.”
The motion included an additional 186-page appendix of supporting documents, including a list of items seized during the search. Those items included several laptops, tablets, a USB drive, “purported marijuana,” a copy of an issue of Vibe Magazine about Shakur, and “Compton Street Legend,” a book written by Davis in 2019.
Davis hired Draskovich in August. Davis is awaiting a decision from the Nevada Supreme Court on whether to dismiss his case, claiming he has immunity.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department did not respond immediately to a message sent on the Christmas holiday about the allegations in Davis’ motion to dismiss. But after Davis’ arrest, District Attorney Steve Wolfson discussed the sufficiency of the evidence against Davis, some of which Davis now seeks to suppress.
“This is an important case,” Wolfson said at a press conference. “We wanted to make sure we get it right. We wanted to make sure we had legally admissible evidence. We wanted to make sure that we felt comfortable that we had sufficient legal evidence. You know, if you’re going to charge a person with murder, he has a right to believe that the system would only bring charges if there was sufficient legal evidence. “
Davis, 62, is currently serving 16-40 months at High Desert State Prison for a jailhouse fight last spring in Clark County Detention Center, where he was awaiting trial. A jury found him guilty last spring for fighting with another inmate inside the Clark County Detention Center.
His trial is scheduled for August 2026.