Former gang leader convicted in Tupac Shakur murder 30 years later

Thirty years after Tupac Shakur was killed, a jury convicted Duane Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, in the rapper’s murder. The jury reached its verdict after only a few hours of deliberation, prompting celebrations in the courtroom.

Prosecutor Binu Palal told jurors that Davis could not leave a confrontation unanswered after Davis’s nephew was assaulted at a Las Vegas casino. Palal said Davis obtained a firearm, gathered his group and went after Shakur.

Shakur was shot about two hours after the casino altercation. According to the prosecution, Davis handed a handgun to someone in the back seat of a white Cadillac and ordered that person to shoot. Shakur died six days later.

The case had remained one of the best-known unsolved murders in the United States, fueling years of debate among music fans over who arranged the killing and why. Investigative progress stalled for decades because of a lack of evidence, but the case was revived after Davis published a memoir in 2019. In it, he said he had been in the Cadillac’s front seat and had handed the pistol to the back-seat passenger. Davis may receive life in prison without parole. His sentencing is scheduled for October 13.

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In gang culture, Duane Davis could not let it go unanswered. So what did he do? He obtained a firearm, gathered his group and went hunting for Mr. Shakur.