Nearly 30 years later, ex-gang leader found guilty in Tupac murder

Nearly three decades after Tupac Shakur was killed, a Las Vegas jury found Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty of first-degree murder for orchestrating the drive-by shooting.

Davis, 63, is the only person to have been charged and tried in one of the most closely watched killings in hip-hop history. He will remain in custody without bail until October 13, when a Nevada judge is due to impose a sentence. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The jury reached its verdict after hearing nine days of testimony from nearly 30 witnesses. Prosecutor Binu Palal argued that Davis acted with his nephew, Orlando Anderson, and other members of his group to pursue Shakur in retaliation for an altercation at the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas.

Prosecutors pointed to 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 accounts, arguing that Davis had offered conflicting versions and that much of his narrative was fictional. Shakur died on September 13, 1996, at age 25, when his music career was at its peak. His family appeared visibly emotional after the verdict, while Davis remained impassive.