Former gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been convicted of the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in Paradise, Nevada.
A jury in Las Vegas deliberated for only three hours on Monday, August 31, before finding Davis, 63, guilty of murder with the use of a deadly weapon, reports The Associated Press. He could now face life in prison.
Following the verdict, Davis said aloud that he “would like to appeal this matter.” He was told by Judge Carli Kierney that he could file an appeal once sentencing was announced. (Davis pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.)
Members of Shakur’s family, including his sister Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, were present in the courtroom as the verdict was announced.
Monday’s verdict brought to a close a weeklong trial, which took place just shy of 30 years after Shakur was killed at age 25 in a drive-by shooting in Paradise, Nevada, on September 7, 1996.
On that night, Shakur, Death Row Records label boss Marion “Suge” Knight Jr. and several associates attended a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Security footage from the hotel captured the moment Shakur got into an altercation with Orlando Anderson, an associate of the South Side Compton Crips gang, over accusations that Anderson had previously robbed Death Row-affiliated gang members.
After the altercation, Shakur left the hotel with Knight in a 1996 BMW 750iL. A white Cadillac allegedly pulled up beside Shakur’s vehicle at a stoplight moments later and opened fire.
Tupac was shot four times: once in the arm, once in the thigh, and twice in the chest, with one of those bullets getting lodged in his right lung.
He was rushed to nearby University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead from internal bleeding less than a week later on September 13, 1996.
No arrests were made at the time and it was long considered a cold case until Davis, Anderson’s uncle and a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips gang, was charged with first-degree murder with a deadly weapon in September 2023. Prosecutors accused Davis of ordering the shooting and supplying an undetermined gunman with a weapon, though he denied those accusations. (Anderson died on May 29, 1998, at age 23.)
During the trial, prosecutors introduced excerpts from Davis’ 2019 book, Compton Street Legends, in which he and his co-writer Yusuf Jah accused Shakur and his associates of “crossing the line” when they scuffled with Anderson at the MGM Grand on the night of the shooting.
“Them jumping on my nephew gave us the ultimate green light to do something to their asses,” a passage in the book read.
The defense argued that the book was entirely fictional, noting that Davis was incorrectly called “Keithy D” in Compton Street Legends.
“You have no evidence that Davis ever ordered a hit on anyone,” defense attorney Michael Sanft told the jury in his closing statements.
Prosecutor Binu Palal told jurors that Davis secured a gun and “went hunting” for Shakur, later telling “anybody who would listen” that he was responsible for the rapper’s murder.
Sentencing will take place on October 13.
