A Las Vegas jury has convicted Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon in the 1996 drive-by killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur, closing one of hip-hop's longest-running mysteries.
The jury reached its decision after just three hours of deliberation. Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, showed little emotion as the verdict was read. Tupac's sister, Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur, was seen in tears, comforted by those seated near her.
Tupac was shot multiple times on September 7, 1996, while riding in a car driven by Marion "Suge" Knight after the pair had attended a Mike Tyson boxing match in Las Vegas. He died six days later at age 25. For decades, the case went cold, with no arrests made until Davis was unexpectedly charged in September 2023.
Prosecutors say Davis acted as the "on-ground commander" who ordered the killing after a confrontation involving his nephew, Orlando Anderson, at the MGM Grand hours earlier. Although Davis did not fire the fatal shots himself, prosecutors argued he supplied the weapon used and authorized the attack.
Much of the case rested on Davis's own words. In a 2019 memoir and in recorded conversations with police, he repeatedly placed himself inside the vehicle used in the shooting and described providing the gun to Anderson. His defense team argued these accounts were exaggerated for book sales and pointed out that no photograph, ticket stub, or eyewitness placed Davis in Las Vegas that night. The jury was not persuaded.
Of the men present the night Tupac was killed, only Davis and Knight remain alive. Knight, who was driving the car, is currently serving a life sentence for an unrelated fatal hit-and-run. The other men linked to the shooting have since died.
Sentencing has been set for October 13. Davis has indicated he inten
ds to appeal.
