Las Vegas, en.SERU.co.id — A Clark County jury on Monday found Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon in the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur.
The 63-year-old former South Side Compton Crips leader was the only person ever charged in the case. Jurors reached the verdict after roughly three hours of deliberation. Judge Carli Kierny ordered Davis to remain in custody and set sentencing for October 13. He faces the possibility of life in prison.
Davis showed little reaction as the verdict was read. Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, was seen wiping away tears, while Davis’s son covered his face. As officers led Davis from the courtroom, he briefly raised a fist. He later told the court that he intends to appeal.
How Prosecutors Linked Davis to the Shooting
Shakur was shot four times on September 7, 1996, while riding in a BMW driven by Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight near the Las Vegas Strip. The rapper, then 25, died six days later in a hospital. Knight was also grazed by a bullet.
Prosecutors said the shooting was retaliation for an earlier fight at the MGM Grand following a Mike Tyson boxing match. Surveillance footage showed Shakur and members of his group attacking Davis’s nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson.
Prosecutors argued that Davis, Anderson and two other men later searched for Shakur and Knight. A gunman inside a white Cadillac then opened fire on the pair.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors:
“Let’s be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew.”
Palal described Davis as the “on-ground, on-site commander” who ordered the killing.
Read Also:
D4vd Ordered to Stand Trial in Celeste Hernandez Murder Case
Davis’s Own Statements Became Key Evidence
The prosecution relied heavily on statements Davis made over the years. In a 2008 interview with detectives, later media appearances and his 2019 memoir Compton Street Legend, Davis placed himself inside the Cadillac and said he provided the Glock used in the shooting.
Davis also indicated that Anderson fired the shots. Anderson was killed in 1998 and was never charged in connection with Shakur’s death.
Defense attorney Michael Sanft argued that Davis had fabricated his accounts to sell books and enhance his reputation. The defense also emphasized the lack of physical evidence directly linking Davis to the shooting, including the absence of the murder weapon, DNA or fingerprints.
Davis did not testify at trial. Since his arrest in September 2023, he has maintained that the memoir was fiction written by others and that his previous statements were not truthful.
Davis is now the first person convicted in connection with Tupac Shakur’s death, nearly three decades after the rapper was killed. He is expected to appeal the verdict.
