Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a former gang leader, has been found guilty of orchestrating the 1996 murder of legendary American rapper Tupac Shakur.
Gatekeepers News reports that a Las Vegas jury convicted the 63-year-old Davis on Monday after about three hours of deliberation, bringing a decades-long investigation into the rapper’s death closer to an end.
Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, was charged with first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon in connection with the drive-by shooting that killed Tupac.
Tupac was shot on September 7, 1996, while riding in a car with Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight in Las Vegas. He died six days later at the age of 25.
Prosecutors alleged that Davis orchestrated the attack after Tupac and his associates assaulted his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson. They said Davis obtained a firearm and handed it to Anderson, who was among those in the vehicle from which shots were fired at Tupac’s car.
Although Davis was not accused of firing the fatal shots, prosecutors argued that he could be held responsible for organising the killing under Nevada law. The actual shooter has never been officially identified, while the other men alleged to have been involved have since died.
Prosecutors also relied on Davis’ recorded interviews and his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, in which he discussed his involvement in the events surrounding the killing. His defence maintained that some of his accounts were exaggerated or fictionalised.
Davis faces a possible life sentence without parole. Judge Carli Kierny of the Clark County District Court has scheduled his sentencing for October 13, 2026. Davis is also expected to appeal the conviction.
