A Las Vegas jury has found former Los Angeles gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty of murdering rap icon Tupac Shakur nearly 30 years ago.
Davis, 63, was convicted Monday of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon in connection with the September 1996 shooting that killed the 25-year-old hip-hop star. Jurors returned the verdict after only a few hours of deliberation.
Following the verdict, Davis told Judge Carli Kierny he plans to appeal. He faces a possible sentence of life without parole, with sentencing scheduled for October 13 in Las Vegas.
Shakur was shot on September 7, 1996, after attending a Mike Tyson boxing match in Las Vegas. He was riding in the front passenger seat of a BMW driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight when a white Cadillac pulled up alongside them at a traffic light and opened fire. Shakur was hit multiple times; Knight was also wounded.
Prosecutors said the attack was retaliation for an earlier casino altercation in which members of Shakur’s entourage assaulted Davis’ nephew. They told jurors Davis armed himself, gathered fellow gang members, and set out to find Shakur, later handing a gun to another passenger in the Cadillac and directing him to open fire.
Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, was reportedly the last surviving occupant of that vehicle by the time charges were finally brought. The case had stalled for decades until Davis’ own public remarks — including details in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend — drew fresh scrutiny and became central to the prosecution’s case.
Davis had discussed the killing in past interviews with journalists and investigators, but later reversed course, denying involvement and pleading not guilty. Prosecutors played recordings of his earlier statements during the trial, presenting them as effective admissions of guilt.
His defense attorney, Michael Sanft, pushed back, telling jurors his client’s memoir and past comments were exaggerated for publicity and shouldn’t be mistaken for a genuine confession. The defense argued no evidence beyond Davis’ own words tied him to the killing — attempts to keep the memoir and a 2008 police interview out of trial had failed earlier.
Shakur remains one of the most influential figures in 1990s hip-hop, remembered for his role in the East Coast–West Coast rap rivalry and for hits like “California Love” and “All Eyez on Me” during his run with Death Row Records.
Davis is set to be sentenced on October 13.
READ ALSO:
- Ex-Gang Leader Duane Davis Guilty of Murdering Tupac Shakur
- Tertiary Institutions Must Now Participate in National Ranking, FG Declares
- Governor Dauda Lawal Mourns Sarkin Zamfaran Zurmi, Alhaji Bello Sulaiman
- IPOB Threatens Election Boycott, Gives FG 14 Days to List Kanu’s Appeal
- 2027: Opposition Parties Propose Single Four-Year Term to Stop Tinubu
