Man charged with Tupac Shakur's murder

Duane 'Keefe D' Davis has previously admitted to being in Cadillac from where shots were fired at the rapper

Tupac Shakur on the Las Vegas Strip 27 years ago. AP

A former gang leader has been charged with the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, a Las Vegas prosecutor said on Friday.

A grand jury in Clark County indicted Duane “Keefe D” Davis on one count of murder with use of a deadly weapon and with the intent to assist a criminal gang.

Mr Davis was arrested on Friday morning, the Associated Press first reported.

"The presumption is great that he is responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur, and he will be found guilty of murder with use of a deadly weapon," said prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo.

Tupac was killed during a drive-by shooting on the Las Vegas Strip 27 years ago.

Tupac, then 25, was riding in a black BMW with Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge Knight” to a nightclub after watching Mike Tyson knock out Bruce Seldon in the WBA heavyweight championship.

A Cadillac pulled up next to the BMW while it was stopped at a red light. Tupac was shot four times. He was taken to hospital, where he died six days later.

Mr Davis has previously admitted that he was in the Cadillac from which shots were fired when the rapper was killed.

Police raided Mr Davis's wife's home in July, believed to have been searching for laptops, a mobile phone, a hard drive and other materials related to the murder. Also among the items was Mr Davis's 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend.

Mr Davis has described himself as the last living witness to the shooting of Tupac. He is the uncle of Orlando Anderson, who has been considered the prime suspect in Tupac's murder.