A jury has found Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty of orchestrating the 1996 murder of rap icon Tupac Shakur, marking the first and only conviction in a legendary case that has captivated hip-hop fans and true crime enthusiasts for nearly three decades.
The 63-year-old Davis was convicted on a single count of murder with a deadly weapon following a jury trial in Las Vegas. After deliberating for less than three hours, the panel of 16 jurors—four of whom are alternates—found Davis guilty. He faces a potential sentence of life in prison.
Outside the courtroom, Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, was seen crying and embracing the prosecution team. In contrast, Davis’ son sat in the gallery, covering his face in distress.
During closing arguments, Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal argued that Davis acquired a firearm and “went hunting” for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight. The shooting was allegedly an act of retaliation after Shakur’s entourage and Knight beat up Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, hours earlier on the night of September 7, 1996.
Prosecutors pointed out that while Davis’s accounts of the events have shifted over the years to protect himself, one critical detail remained consistent: he repeatedly placed himself inside the white Cadillac from which the fatal shots were fired. Under Nevada law, an individual who aids or assists in a murder can be held criminally responsible for the crime, even if they did not pull the trigger.
Palal emphasized that the prosecution’s case did not require independent corroboration of Davis’s statements, provided the jury believed his confessions. He highlighted the deep-seated rivalry between the South Side Compton Crips and the Mob Piru, which mirrored the intense feud between Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records.
“Who fired is not the question,” Palal stated. “The question is criminal responsibility.” Prosecutors argued that Davis provided the weapon, coordinated the search for Shakur, and orchestrated the attack, describing the incident as a planned operation rather than an impulsive act. “It’s a plan, not an impulse,” Palal added.
The prosecution heavily relied on Davis’s own words, including his 2019 memoir, *Compton Street Legend*, and various television interviews in which he claimed to have been in the Cadillac and handed the gun to others in the backseat. While the defense argued that Davis fabricated these stories to profit from the notoriety of the crime, Palal countered that profiting from a murder is a distinct and telling motivation.
In a rebuttal argument, prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo presented a scrapbook Davis had kept, filled with newspaper clippings and articles about Shakur. DiGiacomo remarked to the jury, “This guy’s scrapbooking his murder, for God’s sake.”
The defense, led by attorney Michael Sanft, attempted to cast doubt on the timeline and the credibility of the gang experts. During his closing argument, Sanft read an excerpt from Davis’s memoir aloud, reciting a racial slur that caused visible discomfort and recoil among spectators in the overflow courtroom.
The trial, which spanned nine days, featured testimony from 24 prosecution witnesses and three defense witnesses. Due to the age of the case—nearly 30 years—prosecutors warned jurors that 1990s forensic evidence and hotel surveillance footage differed significantly from modern standards. Investigators also presented a Las Vegas hotel bill found at Davis’s residence, though its date and current location remained unclear.
The state has announced it will dismiss the gang enhancement portion of the charge due to logistical difficulties with witnesses. Davis remains the only surviving suspect among the four men prosecutors allege were involved in the shooting. Shakur died six days after the shooting on September 13, 1996, while Knight survived his wounds.
