A man who for years has said he was a critical player in the gang-orchestrated shooting of the rapper Tupac Shakur pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a charge of murder with a deadly weapon, following an indictment that thrust the dormant case back into public view. The man, Duane Keith Davis, known as Keffe D, has spoken and written about how he was inside the vehicle from which shots were fired at Mr. Shakur in 1996. Wearing a dark blue inmate’s outfit and cuffs on his wrists and ankles, Mr. Davis, 60, looked directly at the judge as he entered his plea, asking for clarification when the prosecutors said they did not plan to ask for the death penalty in the case. His arraignment had been delayed for weeks because he previously did not have a lawyer to represent him. At Thursday’s hearing, Mr. Davis was represented by the public defender’s office, though he told the judge that he hoped to retain Ross Goodman, a high-profile defense lawyer whose parents have both served as the mayor of Las Vegas.

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Persons: Tupac Shakur, Duane Keith Davis, Shakur, Davis, Ross Goodman Organizations: Las Locations: Las Vegas