Jury finds former gang leader guilty of murder in Tupac case

Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, a jury convicted former street gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis of murder.

The Clark County jury deliberated for almost three hours before finding Davis, 63, guilty of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon. The verdict concluded an 11-day trial over one of hip-hop’s most enduring unsolved killings. Davis faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole, with sentencing scheduled for October 13.

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He plans to appeal this matter.

Davis told the judge that “he plans to appeal this matter.” Several people in the courtroom gallery wiped away tears and hugged a prosecutor after the court adjourned.

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So what did he do? He acquired a firearm, got his group together, and went hunting for Mr. Shakur.

Prosecutors said Davis helped orchestrate the killing after Shakur and his entourage beat Davis’s nephew. Binu Palal of the Clark County District Attorney’s Office told jurors that gang rules required Davis to respond. “So what did he do? He acquired a firearm, got his group together, and went hunting for Mr. Shakur,” Palal said.

Police had long suspected Davis but said they lacked enough evidence to charge him until he discussed the killing in media appearances and a memoir. Prosecutors also presented recordings of secret meetings with investigators. Defense lawyer Michael Sanft argued that Davis’s account could not be corroborated and that the case had been damaged by police corruption, mismanagement and missing files. Referring to Davis’s 2019 memoir, Sanft told jurors, “You’re reading a book that is fiction and not fact, but the state wants you to believe that this is somehow a confession.”

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You’re reading a book that is fiction and not fact, but the state wants you to believe that this is somehow a confession.