LAS VEGAS (CN) - Duane "Keffe D" Davis, the man accused of murdering iconic rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996, will head to trial in on Feb. 9, 2026, a Nevada judge ordered Tuesday.

In the meantime, Davis will stand trial on a separate battery charge stemming from a December 2024 altercation with another inmate at the Clark County Detention Center, where he's been held since his September 2023 arrest. He pleaded not guilty last week and invoked his right to a speedy trial, which has been set for April 7.

Las Vegas prosecutors charged Davis with one count of murder using a deadly weapon. He pleaded not guilty.

Davis in a memoir pinned the killing on his nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson. He said he was in Anderson's car on a Las Vegas interstate the night of Sept. 7, 1996, when Shakur was shot and killed.

Anderson, denied involvement in the death, was killed in a 1998 shooting in Compton, California. Authorities believe Shakur's murder stemmed from competition between East Coast members of the Bloods and the West Coast group the Crips. Davis was part of the latter group fighting for dominance in the gangster rap genre.

Davis' bail has been a source of controversy throughout the proceedings. In January 2024, Judge Carli Kierny of the Eighth Judicial District Court set his bail at $750,000. Music manager Cash Jones, also known as "Wack 100", paid $112,000 to a bail bondsman for Davis' release. However, prosecutors say Jones gave Davis the bail money in exchange for the rights to produce a series about Davis' life - a deal that would violate Nevada's law barring "profit or benefit from wrong."

In sworn testimony, Jones said such a deal never existed and it was only a gift.

However, prosecutors played recordings of an interview Jones gave on VladTV and a jailhouse phone call between Jones and Davis. In both recordings, Jones spoke about the prospect of a creating a series with Davis - even claiming on VladTV that the series would be a "stipulation" of him paying bail.

Jones downplayed the interview with VladTV, saying his comments were made up for views. "It's a shame that the world takes what we vlog about as real," he said.

Still, the matter was enough for Kierny in June 2024 to decline to release Davis from jail before his trial.

In response, Davis' family started an online fundraiser called "Free Keefe Davis," hoping to secure his release while he awaits trial, and encouraged anonymous donations. The family placed blame on the criminal justice system, saying Davis had a "generous benefactor pay for his bail."

"The person's motive should have never been legally considered by Judge Kierny just solely by the legitimacy of the business," the fundraiser says.

Source: Courthouse News Service