Former Los Angeles gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been found guilty of first-degree murder for his role in the 1996 killing of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur.
A jury in Clark County, Nevada, reached the verdict on Monday after nearly three hours of deliberations, bringing the decades-old murder case to its first conviction. Davis, 63, was convicted of murder with a deadly weapon.
Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, was accused of orchestrating the drive-by shooting that killed Shakur in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996.
Prosecutors argued that Davis organised the attack as an act of retaliation after Shakur and members of his entourage had been involved in a confrontation with Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand earlier that night.
According to prosecutors, Davis obtained a firearm, gathered members of his group and went looking for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight. The group eventually spotted the BMW carrying Shakur and Knight and followed them before shots were fired from a white Cadillac.
Shakur was struck by multiple bullets and died six days later at the age of 25. Knight was also wounded but survived.
Davis was not accused of pulling the trigger. Prosecutors maintained that he supplied the firearm and directed the attack, making him criminally responsible under Nevada law even though another person fired the shots.
Much of the prosecution's case relied on Davis' own statements over the years, including interviews with investigators, media appearances and his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend. Prosecutors argued that his repeated accounts placed him inside the Cadillac during the shooting and demonstrated his involvement in the attack.
Davis' defence team argued that his statements were unreliable and had been exaggerated or fabricated for publicity and financial gain. His lawyer also highlighted the absence of physical evidence directly placing Davis at the scene, including the lack of the murder weapon or the Cadillac.
The defence nevertheless failed to convince the jury, which returned a guilty verdict after a trial that lasted about two weeks and included testimony from more than two dozen witnesses.
Davis is the only person who was inside the Cadillac that night who is still alive. The other three men prosecutors say were in the vehicle have since died.
The conviction marks a major development in one of America's most famous unsolved murder cases. For nearly three decades, Shakur's killing generated numerous theories and speculation over who was responsible and why the rapper was targeted.
Davis' sentencing has been scheduled for October 13, 2026, and he faces a possible sentence of life imprisonment without parole. Following the verdict, Davis told the judge that he intended to appeal his conviction.
Shakur, widely known as 2Pac, remains one of the most influential figures in hip-hop history. His death at the height of his career had a lasting impact on the music industry and intensified the rivalry and violence surrounding the American rap scene during the 1990s.
The conviction provides the first criminal judgment in connection with Shakur's murder, although the person who allegedly fired the fatal shots was not prosecuted.
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