Thirty years after rapper Tupac Shakur was killed in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting, a former gang leader has been found guilty of orchestrating his death.
A jury in Clark County, Nev., convicted Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, ex-head of Los Angeles street gang South Side Compton Crips, of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon, following a weekslong trial.
But prosecutors decided not to proceed with part of the charge about gang enhancement—an extra prison sentence added to a conviction when the crime is committed for the benefit of, or in connection with, a criminal gang—citing “witness logistics.”
Shakur’s murder in September 1996 at the age of 25 had left so many questions unanswered and has been the subject of conspiracies for years.
But the investigation into his death was revived after Davis published his memoir, Compton Street Legend, in 2019. In the memoir and during promotions, he outlined the role of the Crips in Shakur’s death. The Crips were feuding with the Mob Piru, which had ties to Shakur and his record label, Death Row Records.
Nevada law allows Davis to be charged with murder even if he did not pull the trigger.
Davis, who was arrested in 2023, could face life in prison. Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny ordered that Davis be held without bail and scheduled his sentencing on Oct. 13.
The former gang leader, however, said in court that he would appeal the conviction.
How the verdict was reached
The trial against Davis began on Aug. 17. More than two dozen witnesses testified before a panel of 16 jurors, four of whom are alternates. Jurors also watched footage about the fight that broke out a few hours before Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight, who was riding with him, were shot by a man in a white Cadillac on Sept. 7, 1996, while Shakur’s car stopped at a red light.
Knight survived, but Shakur died six days later.
Read More: 30 Years After Tupac Shakur Was Killed, a Murder Trial Begins
Throughout the trial, Davis’s defense attorney, Michael Sanft, attempted to discredit the evidence against his client.
In his closing arguments, which lasted for more than an hour, Sanft argued that the prosecution lacked the physical evidence to connect Davis to the crime scene and to determine that Davis called the shots in Shakur’s death. He also claimed the investigation was compromised, and that the Compton Police Department, which probed the local gang rivalry that provided the backdrop for the shooting, was also shut down due to corruption.
“We’re not giving you everything,” Sanft told the jurors. “And you as jurors deserve everything—in terms of the full weight of the evidence in this case. We don’t have it.”
Sanft also repeatedly attacked Davis’ memoir, saying that his client did not even read the book and that his client was telling stories to make money.
“When you think about Mr. Davis’s statements, they all conflict,” Sanft told the jurors. “They conflict with the book and they conflict with the facts. And the only thing that we have that we can agree on is that Tupac Shakur was shot and killed.”
But Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal emphasized the extent of evidence against Davis. Palal highlighted the defendant’s own statements over the years, in which he said he played an integral role in Shakur’s killing, including to documentary filmmakers, in his memoir, and to the police.
Davis told federal agents in 1998 that he had been in Las Vegas when Shakur was shot but denied knowing who killed him. The case lacked credible witnesses and the investigation stalled. But ten years later, when Davis was under threat of possible drug charges, he told police that he and his fellow Crips members looked for Shakur and Knight. Davis offered the information under a proffer agreement that he believed protected him from being prosecuted.
Prosecutors said that Shakur’s and Knight’s involvement in the beating of Davis’ nephew at the MGM Grand hotel and casino after a Mike Tyson bout prompted retaliation.
In the closing argument, Palal also played a recording of an interview where Davis urged purchases of his 2019 memoir to get the “real truth,” which counts as “textbook” admission of his statements.
“For nearly 18 years, Duane Davis has told the police, television, books, YouTube interviewers, anybody that will listen,” Palal said in his closing statement. “He has told you he is responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur. Tell him you hear him. Find him guilty.”
The jury deliberated for less than three hours before reaching the verdict.
What are the reactions to the verdict?
The verdict comes two weeks before the 30th anniversary of Shakur’s death.
Footage from the courtroom shows that after the verdict was read, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, Tupac’s sister, wept while reaching for a person behind her. Some of Shakur’s other loved ones in the courtroom embraced each other, with one raising his fist in the air
But the reactions to the verdict were not limited to family members, as Shakur’s 1996 killing became a defining moment of hip-hop culture’s “gangsta” rap era—which reflected the violence pervasive in American inner cities that suffer from poverty.
Shakur fan Derrick Lee Stanton Jr. called the jury’s conviction of Davis a “great moment” and “emotional.” But speaking to reporters outside, Stanton said that the case is “not done,” claiming that there are “more people that have to pay for the death of Tupac” as Duane is “not the lone soldier here.”
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