Duane "Keffe D" Davis convicted in 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur

A Las Vegas jury on Monday found Duane "Keffe D" Davis guilty of orchestrating the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. Duane, 63, was convicted of first-degree murder after about three hours of deliberations following a three-week trial.

Davis was found guilty of murder with a deadly weapon with intent to promote a criminal gang, though prosecutors dismissed the accompanying gang enhancement charge Monday night. Davis will be sentenced on October 13 and faces life in prison. Davis is currently being held without bail, though he has vowed to appeal the decision.

Prosecutors said Davis, a former high-ranking member of the South Side Compton Crips, obtained a .40-caliber Glock and "went hunting" for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight after the pair's entourage beat Davis's nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, following a Mike Tyson fight at the MGM Grand. Prosecutors said Davis and associates spotted Shakur and Knight in a black BMW while driving a white Cadillac, made a U-turn, and opened fire.

Shakur was shot four times and died six days later; Knight was wounded but survived. Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal called the shooting premeditated, telling jurors, "It's a plan, not an impulse."

Davis was never accused of pulling the trigger but was charged under a Nevada law holding him criminally responsible for providing the gun and directing the attack. Davis is the only person among the four alleged Cadillac occupants still alive; the man prosecutors say gave him the gun is also dead.

The case had stalled for years until Davis began publicly describing his role in police interviews, a documentary and his 2019 memoir, "Compton Street Legend." Prosecutors played more than eight hours of Davis's recorded statements for jurors, while acknowledging his account shifted over time.

Palal argued the core details, including Davis placing himself in the Cadillac, remained consistent, and pointed to a scrapbook of Shakur-related news clippings found in Davis's possession. Defense attorney Michael Sanft countered that Davis fabricated the account for profit, telling jurors, "They have nothing in this case that says that man was here in Las Vegas."

Since his 2023 arrest, Davis has recanted his admissions, and no physical evidence, including the murder weapon or the Cadillac, was ever recovered. Shakur's sister, Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur, cried in the courtroom as the verdict was read, while his stepbrother, Mopreme Shakur, raised his fist after the hearing.