LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Attorneys Robert Draskovich and Michael Pandullo were formally introduced Tuesday as legal counsel for Duane “Keffe D” Davis in the 1996 shooting death of Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas, set to go to trial in February.
The change comes five months before the murder trial that Davis has called the “biggest case in Las Vegas history.” The attorneys said they are up for the challenge.
“Five months can be a short amount of time. It could also be an eternity if you’re willing to put the effort in, and we are,” Pandullo said, adding that the lawyers anticipated the case would go to trial. “We’re not taking this case and trying to win it on a technicality.”
Draskovich addressed the challenge of the prevailing narrative in the high-profile case, saying the defense theory is that Davis is innocent.
“The theory of the defense is that he didn’t do it. … The presumption of innocence, while it’s a constitutional principle, it’s also a reality,” Draskovich said. Pandullo emphasized the state’s burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
“We don’t think they can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt,” Pandullo said.
One of the first steps for the defense is a motion to suppress evidence that Draskovich said was seized using a “nighttime clause.” Typically, a search warrant can only be served in the daytime unless a court determines a nighttime search is necessary to retain objects that could otherwise be destroyed or removed.
“You’ve got a case that’s nearly 30 years old, yet you have this 24-hour authorization,” Draskovich said. Pandullo cited concern over the case’s age and how the evidence was preserved.
“Based on how old the case is, how stale evidence may have been and whether evidence was maintained, we could be looking into a spoliation motion as well,” Pandullo said.
The news conference also addressed the credibility of statements in the book Compton Street Legend, with Pandullo noting the piece was not written by Davis, but rather in Davis’ voice.
“There are two names on that book. Duane Davis is not a writer,” Pandullo said. “The book quotes Winston Churchill, A Tale of Two Cities and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, among other things. Now, those words and that style are certainly not his.”
The attorneys drew attention to alternative theories regarding Shakur’s death. Pandullo noted that some people question the very basis of the case.
“There have been so many theories about this case. I mean, some people think Tupac Shakur is still alive,” Pandullo said, quickly adding that it is not a theory of the defense. However, alternative theories are being investigated.
“Obviously, if our client wasn’t involved, somebody else was,” Draskovich said. The attorneys said they intend to question all aspects of the case, including the cause of the shooting, why the shooters’ vehicle was never recovered and whether the people inside that vehicle had died.
Draskovich also addressed media speculation about whether a future documentary or outside project was paying for Davis’ defense. The lawyers said they had no knowledge of that being the case.
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