Former gang leader found guilty of murdering Tupac Shakur

A decades-old mystery surrounding Tupac Shakur’s killing ended with the conviction of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a former gang leader accused of organizing the drive-by attack on the influential rapper.

A Las Vegas jury found Davis guilty of murder in Nevada’s Clark County. The 63-year-old had pleaded not guilty to a single count of murder with a deadly weapon. Under Nevada law, prosecutors did not need to prove that he personally fired the gun.

Prosecutors played hours of recorded conversations in which Davis described his anger after Shakur and his entourage beat up Davis’ nephew at a Las Vegas casino on Sept. 7, 1996. Davis said he and three other men, including his nephew, drove around in a white Cadillac looking for Shakur and Death Row Records executive Marion “Suge” Knight.

Davis said he passed a gun to the back seat when they found Knight and Shakur’s car, and that one of the two men in the back opened fire. Prosecutors did not name the shooter. The three other men in the car have since died.

Police had long suspected Davis but said they lacked enough evidence to charge him until he discussed the case publicly in media appearances and a memoir. His lawyer argued that Davis’ statements reflected bravado and could not be supported by other evidence.

Shakur, 25, was one of rap’s most commercially successful and influential artists. His killing became a defining moment in rap history and intensified hip-hop’s association with violence during the height of gangsta rap, when East Coast and West Coast artists were involved in bitter rivalries.