Jury Convicts Former Gang Leader of Orchestrating Tupac Shakur’s Murder

Nearly three decades after Tupac Shakur was killed, a Las Vegas jury convicted Duane “Keffe D” Davis of first-degree murder for orchestrating the drive-by shooting that ended the rapper’s life.

Davis, 63, is the only person to face trial in one of the most notorious killings in U.S. hip-hop culture. He will remain in custody without bail until Oct. 13, when a Nevada judge is scheduled to impose a sentence. The conviction carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The jury reached its verdict after nine days of hearings and testimony from about 30 witnesses. Davis faced one count of murder with a deadly weapon, with an enhancement alleging that the crime was intended to promote, further or assist a criminal organization.

Prosecutor Binu Palal argued that Davis acted with his nephew, Orlando Anderson, and other members of his group. Palal said they pursued Shakur in retaliation for a confrontation at the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas involving the rapper and his entourage. Prosecutors relied heavily on Davis’s memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” in which he described organizing the attack and obtaining the gun used in the shooting.

Defense lawyer Michael Sanft sought to undermine those statements, arguing that Davis had given contradictory accounts and that much of his narrative was fictional. Shakur died on Sept. 13, 1996, at age 25, when his music career was at its peak. His family reacted emotionally to the verdict, while Davis remained impassive.