Police search home in Tupac murder breakthrough

Two people whose home was searched in Las Vegas are connected to a long-held theory into the unsolved murder of the star rapper in 1996.

The home raided in relation to the unsolved murder of Tupac Shakur is connected to a long-held theory of who was behind the 1996 homicide.

The Las Vegas home was owned by a woman named Paula Clemons who is married to Duane Keith “Keefe D” Davis, according to sources.

Keef D is a former Crip who has claimed in interviews to be the uncle of Orlando Anderson, the person who Tupac and Death Row Records boss Suge Knight jumped earlier the night they were shot. Tupac died days later, while Knight survived.

Orlando, who had denied being involved in the drive-by, died in a gang-related shooting two years later in 1998.

Tupac Shakur and Death Row Records CEO Marion "Suge" Knight shortly before they were shot in 1996. Picture: Supplied

The raid on Monday in Henderson, about 25km southeast of the Vegas strip, searched the house of Ms Clemons and Mr Davis, according to TMZ.

A neighbour on the same street witnessed the police raid and told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that two occupants came outside the home with their hands up.

Police, who arrived in patrol cars and with guns drawn, yelled at the couple to leave the home before they executed the search warrant, the witness said.

Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Jason Johansson said they hoped find Tupac’s killer despite the homicide remaining unsolved for almost 27 years.

“It has been a while,” since the 1996 murder, Johansson told the Journal. “It’s a case that’s gone unsolved and hopefully one day we can change that.”

Keef D, as he was known, had previously implicated his nephew in Tupac’s homicide during an investigation into drug charges in Los Angeles.

In 2018, the self-proclaimed “Compton Kingpin” sensationally confessed “involvement” in the rapper’s murder during an interview in the crime documentary “Unsolved: the Tupac and Biggie Murders”.

Davis claimed he was in the front passenger seat, next to driver Terrence Brown, with DeAndre Smith and Orlando Anderson in the back, when they saw Tupac driving towards Suge Knight’s 662 Club.

“My partner bust a U,” Davis tells the camera. “When we pulled up, I was in the front seat.”

He said the shots were fired from behind him, but stopped short of identifying who pulled the trigger.

“Going to keep it for the code of the streets. It just came from the back seat,” he said.

Shakur and Knight had just left the MGM Grand after the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon fight. On the way out, the two got into a fight with Anderson which was captured on camera.

TUPAC MURDER BREAKTHROUGH

Police searched a property in connection to the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur almost 27 years ago.

In a stunning development in the investigation of the unsolved 1996 killing, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced the search took place in the city of Henderson, about 25 km southeast of the strip.

The search warrant was executed on Monday but no arrests had been made when the search was announced on Tuesday.

Rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B. I. G were killed month within months of each other. Picture: Supplied

While initial reports said the search was conducted at a home, LVPD department spokesman Aden Ocampo Gomez would not confirm whether the warrant was served and a private residence or a business.

He said he could not provide further details on the development, citing the open investigation.

The hip-hop star was shot and killed on September 7, 1996, while stopped in a black sedan on Las Vegas Boulevard. A white Cadillac pulled up alongside the vehicle before gunmen opened fire. He died of his injuries six days later, at the age of 25.

A few months later, rival rapper the Notorious B. I. G was shot and killed in Los Angels on March 9, 1997.

The two murders are believed to be connected, but no arrest has ever been made in the homicide of Tupac.

Black car in which rapper Tupac Shakur was fatally shot by unknown driveby assassins as he was riding Death Row records president, Marion Suge Knight. Picture: Getty

The new lead in the case comes less than two weeks after the slain rap legend was honoured with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

In his brief but prolific career, Shakur went from a backup dancer to a self-styled gangsta rapper and one of the most influential figures in hip-hop.

“It fills my heart with honour to stand here today representing the Shakur family,” said Shakur’s sister Sekyiwa Shakur at the unveiling in Los Angeles on July 6. ”Tupac knew deep down that he was always meant for something great. And as his little sister, I had the privilege to watch that greatness unfold.”

Known for his emotionally intense lyrics and onstage flair, Shakur sold more than 75 million records, with hits including “California Love” and “Changes.”

Shakur also became a key figure in a vaunted rivalry, egged on by promoters, between East Coast and West Coast hip-hop.

Though born in New York, Shakur moved as a teenager with his family to California. He became one of the most identifiable figures in the West Coast scene before he was shot dead.

The circumstances of Shakur’s death remain murky. Shakur’s identification as a gangsta rapper came toward the end of his brief life when he had repeated brushes with violence and went to prison on sexual assault charges.

But Shakur -- whose mother Afeni was active in the Black Panther movement and named him after Tupac Amaru, a revolutionary Inca chief -- also used his lyrics to raise issues facing Black Americans, from police brutality to mass incarceration.

Shakur and his mother are the subjects of the television documentary series “Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur.”

With AFP

Originally published as Police search home in Tupac murder breakthrough