A Las Vegas judge sentenced Duane “Keffe D” Davis to 40 years to life in prison Tuesday for the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. Judge Carli Kierny said Davis would receive credit for the time he has already served.
Davis, 63, was convicted in August of murder with a deadly weapon and an intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. Prosecutors said at the time that the state would dismiss the gang-related portion of the charge. Davis had pleaded not guilty.
During the sentencing hearing, Davis spoke only briefly. He asked the judge to return some of the belongings police seized from his home, including photographs, and said he had nothing else to add.
“Today, justice has been served for Tupac Shakur and his loved ones,” Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said in a statement. “While no amount of time in prison can bring Tupac back, we hope this sentencing brings some measure of closure and peace to his family after nearly 30 years. This case is a reminder that no matter how much time passes, our commitment to seeking justice never wavers.”
Shakur remains one of hip-hop’s most influential figures, and his killing ranks among the most notorious celebrity deaths in modern history. He died six days after being shot while stopped at a red light in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996. Questions about who fired the shots went unanswered for years, until Davis began speaking publicly about his presence inside the white Cadillac investigators knew had pulled alongside Shakur’s vehicle that night.
Prosecutors argued that Davis had gone “hunting” for Shakur in retaliation against the rapper and Marion “Suge” Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records. Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal said Davis shot Shakur after Shakur and Knight had beaten Davis’ nephew, citing an account Davis had previously given.
Palal acknowledged during the trial that Davis had altered parts of his story since first discussing the shooting publicly. However, he told jurors that key elements remained unchanged, including Davis’ account that he was inside the white Cadillac when the shots that killed Shakur were fired.
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Michael Sanft, Davis’ attorney, countered that the only evidence placing his client in Las Vegas that night came from Davis’ own statements. He told jurors that investigators had no surveillance video, phone records or other physical evidence linking Davis to the scene.
Prosecutors said four men were riding in the white Cadillac, but Davis was the only one still alive when he was arrested in 2023 and later convicted. Another man whom prosecutors identified as the person who initially provided Davis with the gun was also dead.
In his 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” Davis described his role in the shooting that killed Shakur and wounded Knight, who was inside the targeted vehicle. Davis’ attorneys sought to keep the memoir out of the trial, but prosecutors opposed the request.
