Ex-gang leader 'Keffe D' convicted in murder of rap legend Tupac Shakur
Al Jazeera Staff
A Las Vegas jury convicted Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, of first-degree murder in the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed Tupac Shakur. Davis, a former gang leader, is the only person ever charged in the case; he faces up to life in prison.
Thirty years after the death of rap legend Tupac Shakur, a former Los Angeles gang member has been convicted in the 1996 killing. The Las Vegas jury delivered its verdict on Monday after several hours of deliberation.
“Count one, murder with a deadly weapon, guilty of first-degree murder,” the jury foreperson announced. Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, now faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. After hearing the verdict, the defendant told Judge Carli Kierny he intends to appeal.
Davis was a leader of the South Side Compton Crips. Prosecutors alleged he ordered the killing of Shakur on September 7, 1996, after members of the rapper’s entourage assaulted Davis’s nephew at a Las Vegas casino.
“In gang culture, Duane Davis could not let that go,” prosecutor Binu Palal said in closing arguments. “So what did he do? He got a gun, got his crew, and went hunting for Mr. Shakur.”
Shakur was in Las Vegas to watch a Mike Tyson heavyweight boxing match. About two hours after the casino altercation, he was shot by a gunman in a white Cadillac that pulled up beside the BMW carrying the rapper at a red light. Shakur was in the front passenger seat and died six days later.
According to the prosecution, Davis handed a gun to a person in the back seat of the Cadillac and ordered him to fire. Davis is the only person in that Cadillac who is still alive. The driver of the BMW, Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight, was wounded in the shooting.
The killing of Shakur, also known by his stage name 2Pac, long stood as one of America’s most famous unsolved cases, sparking endless debate among music fans. Davis was the only person ever charged in the shooting.
The decades-long investigation was hampered by a lack of evidence but was revived after Davis’s memoir was published in 2019. Over the years, Davis bragged about his role in Shakur’s murder in interviews with police, media, and in his autobiography Compton Street Legend. He later recanted and pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutor Palal played recordings that were said to contain Davis’s confession during closing arguments. Defense attorney Michael Sanft argued that those admissions were fiction, in part to promote the book.
“You are reading a fiction book, not facts,” Sanft told the jury. “But the state wants you to believe it’s a confession.” The lawyer also stressed that no other evidence tied Davis to the crime beyond his own statements. Before trial, Davis’s legal team had tried—unsuccessfully—to keep the book and a 2008 police interview out of evidence.
Shakur, who died at age 25, was a central figure in the East Coast–West Coast rap rivalry. Known for hits like “California Love” and “All Eyez on Me,” he was the son of a Black Panther member, grew up in Harlem and Baltimore, and became an icon of California hip-hop after signing with Los Angeles–based Death Row Records.
Sentencing is set for October 13.
