Duane Davis Convicted in Tupac Shakur Murder Case After Nearly 30 Years

Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was killed, former gang leader Duane Davis has been convicted in Las Vegas and sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors did not claim that Davis fired the shots. They described him instead as the organizer of the deadly attack.

A jury found the 63-year-old responsible for arranging the retaliation and obtaining the weapon. Under Nevada law, a person can face a murder conviction for helping another person commit the crime.

Davis was arrested in Las Vegas in 2023 and charged with murder involving the use of a deadly weapon. He pleaded not guilty. His defense lawyer, Michael Sanft, portrayed Davis as a liar and braggart who had invented stories to profit from them.

Davis had repeatedly spoken publicly about sitting in the white Cadillac from which Shakur was shot. He said he was the only surviving occupant and wrote about it in his autobiography. During a 2008 interrogation, he said his nephew fired the fatal shots.

Shakur was shot in a car in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, and died in hospital six days later. Known for songs including “California Love” and “Changes,” he sold millions of records and continued to influence rap music and popular culture after his death.