Davis has long been known to investigators as one of four suspects that were identified early in the investigation of who killed Tupac Shakur.
Despite the identification, he wasn't accused of being the gunman that shot down the multi-award-winning rapper, instead was described as the group's ringleader by authorities speaking in court and addressing a news conference on Friday.
"Duane Davis was the shot caller for this group of individuals that committed this crime," said Las Vegas police homicide Lt. Jason Johansson.
"He orchestrated the plan that was carried out," he added.
Davis has admitted in interviews and in his 2019 tell-all memoir, "Compton Street Legend," that he provided the gun used in the drive-by shooting.
Authorities said Davis' public comments revived the investigation.
Davis, now 60, was arrested early Friday while on a walk near his home on the outskirts of Las Vegas, hours before prosecutors announced in court that a Nevada grand jury had indicted the self-described "gangster" on one count of murder with a deadly weapon.
He is due in court next week.
The grand jury also voted to add a sentencing enhancement to the murder charge for gang activity that could add up to 20 additional years if he's convicted.
Hundreds of pages of transcripts released Friday provide a view into the first month of grand jury proceedings, which began in late July with testimony from former associates of Davis, friends of Shakur and a slate of retired police officers involved in the case early on.
Their testimony painted a picture for the jurors of a deep, escalating rift between Shakur's music label, Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records, which had ties to Davis and represented Shakur's rap rival, Biggie Smalls.
Testifying in court, one of Davis' former associates said "it started the whole West Coast/East Coast" rivalry that primarily defined the hip-hop scene during the mid-1990s.
The first-ever arrest in the case came after Las Vegas police in mid-July raided Davis' home in the nearby city of Henderson for items they described at the time as "concerning the murder of Tupac Shakur."
Davis denied an interview request Friday from jail, and court records did not list an attorney who can comment on his behalf. Phone and text messages to Davis and his wife on Friday and in the months since the July 17 search weren't returned.
In a statement released Friday, Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur, the rapper's sister, described the arrest as a victory.
"This is no doubt a pivotal moment. The silence of the past 27 years surrounding this case has spoken loudly in our community," she said.
“It's important to me that the world, the country, the justice system, and our people acknowledge the gravity of the passing of this man, my brother, my mother's son, my father's son," she added.
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