Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a former Los Angeles gang leader, has been found guilty of the 1996 murder of rap legend Tupac Shakur.
A Las Vegas jury reached the verdict on Monday after deliberating for several hours, finding the 63-year-old guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon.
Davis faces a possible sentence of life in prison without parole. He told Judge Carli Kierny after the verdict that he intends to appeal. His sentencing is scheduled for October 13.
Prosecutors accused Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, of organising the attack after his nephew was beaten by members of Shakur’s entourage at a Las Vegas casino.
According to prosecutors, Davis obtained a firearm, gathered members of his group and went after Shakur. They alleged that he handed the weapon to someone in the back seat of a white Cadillac and ordered the person to shoot.
Shakur was shot on September 7, 1996, while sitting in the front passenger seat of a BMW driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight. The rapper was in Las Vegas to attend a Mike Tyson heavyweight boxing match.
Shakur died six days later at the age of 25. Knight survived the shooting with injuries.
Davis was the only person in the Cadillac that night still alive and the only person charged in connection with Shakur’s killing.
The case remained one of the most prominent unsolved murders in American music for decades before investigators revived it following the publication of Davis’s 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend.
In the book, Davis acknowledged being in the front seat of the Cadillac and said he handed a pistol to people in the back, although he did not identify who fired the shots.
Davis had also made statements over the years claiming involvement in the killing, including comments to law enforcement and the media. He later withdrew those claims and pleaded not guilty.
During closing arguments, prosecutor Binu Palal presented recordings of Davis’s alleged confessions to the jury.
Davis’s defence attorney, Michael Sanft, argued that the statements were lies and part of an attempt to promote Davis’s memoir. He maintained that there was no evidence linking his client to the murder beyond Davis’s own statements.
Tupac Shakur, also known as 2Pac, was a central figure in the 1990s rivalry between hip-hop artists on the US East and West Coasts. He became one of the era’s most influential rappers after signing with Los Angeles-based Death Row Records.
His best-known songs include “California Love” and “All Eyez on Me.”
The verdict brings a major development in a case that has remained the subject of intense public interest for three decades.
