Judge says she suspects a cover-up of the true source of bail funds for man charged in Tupac killing

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A judge on Tuesday again rejected a request to free an ailing former Los Angeles-area gang leader ahead of his murder trial in the 1996 killing of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur, saying she suspects a cover-up related to the source of the funds for his bond.

The decision from Clark District Court Judge Carli Kierny came after an attorney for Duane “Keffe D” Davis said he would provide additional records to prove that the music record executive offering to underwrite Davis' $750,000 bail had obtained the money legally. But Kierny said she was skeptical after receiving two identical letters apparently from an entertainment company that Cash “Wack 100” Jones says wired him the funds as payment for his work.

One letter was signed with a name that has no ties to the company, the judge said, while the second letter included a misspelled name and a return address tied to a doctor's office.

“I have a sense that things are trying to be covered up,” Kierny said.

The hearing took a turn when Davis' lawyer, Carl Arnold, told the judge that the bail bond agent used by Davis had provided the entertainment company with copy-and-paste instructions on the language for the letters and could therefore testify about their legitimacy.

In a scathing response, prosecutor Binu Palal said the bond dealer may have committed a felony crime by submitting “a false document to this court.”

“The state takes that very seriously," he said. "Be advised that it will not go uninvestigated.”

Both Palal and Arnold declined to comment further.

Davis has sought to be released since shortly after his September 2023 arrest, which made him the only person ever to be charged in one of hip-hop’s most enduring mysteries. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

Also Tuesday, Kierny pushed back the start of Davis’ trial from Nov. 4 to March 17.

Kierny previously rejected Davis' bid to have Jones put up $112,500 for his release to house arrest. Adding to her concerns, she said at the time, was the question of whether the pair planned to profit by selling Davis' life story.

Nevada has a law, sometimes called a “slayer statute,” that prohibits convicted killers from profiting from their crimes.

Jones, who has managed artists including Johnathan “Blueface” Porter and Jayceon “The Game” Taylor, testified in June that he wanted to help Davis because he was fighting cancer and had “always been a monumental person in our community ... especially the urban community.”

Davis himself has said in interviews and in his 2019 tell-all memoir that he is the only living suspect in the fatal drive-by shooting of Shakur nearly 28 years ago at a traffic light near the Las Vegas Strip.

Authorities say that the gunfire stemmed from competition between East Coast members of a Bloods gang sect and West Coast groups of a Crips sect, including Davis, for dominance in a genre known at the time as “gangsta rap.”

Duane "Keffe D" Davis, who is accused of orchestrating the 1996 slaying of Tupac Shakur, appears in court during a bond hearing at the Regional Justice Center Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

Duane "Keffe D" Davis, who is accused of orchestrating the 1996 slaying of Tupac Shakur, appears in court during a bond hearing at the Regional Justice Center Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

Judge Carli Kierny presides over a hearing to reconsider bail for Duane "Keffe D" Davis, who is accused of orchestrating the 1996 slaying of Tupac Shakur, at the Regional Justice Center Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

FILE - Rapper Tupac Shakur attends a voter registration event in South Central Los Angeles, Aug. 15, 1996. (AP Photo/Frank Wiese, File)

Duane "Keffe D" Davis, who is accused of orchestrating the 1996 slaying of Tupac Shakur, appears in court during a bond hearing at the Regional Justice Center Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

WINDER, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia county's emergency call center was overwhelmed by calls on Sept. 4 about a school shooting at Apalachee High School, records released Friday by Barrow County show.

Local news organizations report many of the 911 phone calls were not released under public record requests because state law exempts from release calls recording the voice of someone younger than 18 years old. That exemption would cover calls from most of the 1,900 students at the school in Winder, northeast of Atlanta.

Calls spiked around 10:20 a.m., when authorities have said that 14-year-old Colt Gray began shooting. Many calls were answered with automated message saying there was a “high call volume," WAGA-TV reported.

One man called 911 after receiving text messages from a girlfriend. He was put on hold for just over 10 minutes because of an influx of calls at the time of the shooting, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

“She hears people yelling outside, so I don’t know if that’s officers in the building or that’s — I don’t know,” he said, adding that she was eventually evacuated out of the school.

Other adults also called 911 after their children contacted them.

“My daughter calling me crying. Somebody go ‘boom, boom, boom, boom,’ ” one mother said. The 911 operator responded: “Ma’am we have officers out there, OK?”

Parents of students at an elementary school and middle school neighboring Apalachee also flooded 911 seeking information.

“Sir, my daughter goes to school next door to Apalachee. Is there a school shooter?" one caller asked.

“We do have an active situation (at) Apalachee High School right now," the operator responded. "We have a lot of calls coming in.”

More than 500 radio messages between emergency personnel were also released Friday.

“Active shooter!” an officer yells in one audio clip while speaking with a dispatcher, CNN reported. Another officer responds, “Correct. We have an active shooter at Apalachee High School.”

The shooting killed teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, as well as students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, with seven of those hit by gunfire.

Colt Gray is charged as an adult with four counts of murder, and District Attorney Brad Smith has said more charges are likely to be filed against him in connection with the wounded. Authorities have also charged his father, Colin Gray, alleging that he gave his son access to the gun when he knew or should have known that the teen was a danger to himself and others.

The 13,000 students at Barrow County’s other schools returned to class Tuesday. The 1,900 students who attend Apalachee are supposed to start returning the week of Sept. 23, officials said Friday.

Mourners listen to a speaker during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A memorial is seen at Apalachee High School after the Wednesday school shooting, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

This combo of images show shooting victims, from left, Christian Angulo, Mason Schermerhorn, Cristina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall, displayed at a memorial outside Apalachee High School, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlotte Kramon)

Two students view a memorial as the flags fly half-staff after a shooting Wednesday at Apalachee High School, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

911 calls overwhelmed operators after shooting at Georgia's Apalachee High School

911 calls overwhelmed operators after shooting at Georgia's Apalachee High School

Students and parents walk off campus at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. A shooting at the Georgia high school Wednesday caused an unknown number of injuries and a suspect was arrested in a chaotic scene. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)