LAS VEGAS — Judge Carli Kierny ruled on June 30, 2026, that statements from Duane Davis's memoir, "Compton Street Legend," and police interviews conducted in 2008 and 2009 can be used as evidence in his upcoming murder trial. Davis faces one charge of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further, or assist a criminal gang, related to the 1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur.

Davis, 63, co-wrote the 2019 memoir, in which he stated he was in the Cadillac from which shots were fired and provided the weapon used to shoot Shakur. The state's case against Davis hinges on this book and statements he made in YouTube interviews. Davis pleaded not guilty after his arrest in September 2023, and his trial is scheduled to begin on August 10, 2026.

Defense attorney Michael Sanft argued that the book was fictionalized for profit and that it was unclear which parts Davis actually wrote. Sanft also contended that Davis's statements to police in 2008 and 2009 should not be admissible because Davis believed he had immunity due to a proffer agreement. Kierny determined that Davis adopted the statements in the book as his own, citing multiple instances where he described the book as the "real truth."

Kierny found Davis's statements to law enforcement to be voluntary. She expressed concern that Davis was told in 2008 that he would not be prosecuted for what he said in the interview. Marc DiGiacomo, the chief deputy district attorney in Clark County, explained that the interviews became admissible when Davis chose to disseminate information about the events. "Had he decided to never write the book, he would not, probably, have ever been prosecuted for the crime," DiGiacomo said.

Shakur was in a black BMW with Marion "Suge" Knight on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas when a white Cadillac pulled alongside their vehicle at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip. Gunfire erupted, leading to Shakur being shot multiple times; he died six days later. Knight sustained minor injuries in the shooting.