Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a former Los Angeles gang member, has been found guilty of the 1996 murder of legendary American rapper Tupac Shakur.
A Las Vegas jury delivered the verdict on Monday, finding the 63-year-old Davis guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon, nearly three decades after Shakur was killed.
“Count one, murder with use of a deadly weapon, guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon,” the jury foreperson announced in court.
Davis, who could face life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, told Judge Carli Kierny following the verdict that he intends to appeal the decision.
Prosecutors accused Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, of orchestrating Shakur’s killing following a confrontation at a Las Vegas casino in which his nephew was allegedly beaten by members of Shakur’s entourage.
During closing arguments, prosecutor Binu Palal told the jury that Davis retaliated by obtaining a firearm, gathering members of his group and pursuing Shakur.
Shakur was in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, to attend a heavyweight boxing match involving Mike Tyson. About two hours after the casino confrontation, a white Cadillac pulled alongside the BMW carrying Shakur at a red light.
The rapper was sitting in the front passenger seat when shots were fired from the Cadillac.
According to prosecutors, Davis obtained the weapon and handed it to another person inside the Cadillac, directing the individual to shoot Shakur.
Shakur, popularly known as 2Pac, was critically wounded in the attack and died six days later at the age of 25.
The BMW was driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight, who was also wounded in the shooting.
Davis was the only surviving person who was inside the Cadillac that night and became the sole individual charged in connection with Shakur’s murder.
The killing remained one of the most high-profile unsolved cases in American music history, generating decades of speculation over the identity of the gunman and the motive behind the attack.
Confessions Became Key Evidence
The investigation into Shakur’s murder remained largely stalled for years due to a lack of evidence. However, the case was revived after Davis published his memoir, Compton Street Legend, in 2019.
Over the years, Davis had spoken publicly about his alleged involvement in the killing, including during interviews with law enforcement and the media. His statements were later used by prosecutors as evidence during the trial.
Davis subsequently denied responsibility and pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
During closing arguments, prosecutor Palal played clips of Davis’s previous statements, which prosecutors described as admissions of his involvement.
However, Davis’s defence attorney, Michael Sanft, argued that his client’s statements were fabricated and partly intended to generate publicity for his book.
Sanft told jurors that the memoir was fiction and argued that there was no credible evidence linking Davis to the murder apart from his own statements.
Davis’s lawyers had previously attempted to prevent prosecutors from introducing his memoir and statements from a 2008 police interview as evidence, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Tupac’s Enduring Legacy
Shakur, the son of a Black Panther, was born in New York and spent parts of his childhood in Harlem and Baltimore before becoming one of the defining figures of West Coast hip-hop.
He rose to international fame through songs including California Love and All Eyez on Me and became a central figure in the intense East Coast-West Coast rivalry that dominated American hip-hop during the 1990s.
Tupac was signed to Los Angeles-based Death Row Records and had established himself as one of the most influential artists of his generation before his death.
Davis is scheduled to be sentenced on October 13.
