Former Crips leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been convicted of orchestrating the 1996 Las Vegas drive-by shooting that claimed the life of rap legend Tupac Shakur.
Davis, 63, was found guilty Monday on one count of murder with a deadly weapon, with prosecutors saying the crime was carried out to promote, advance or assist a criminal gang. The conviction leaves him facing a potential life sentence in prison.
Inside the courtroom as the decision was announced, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, Tupac’s sister, appeared to quietly break down in tears, CNN reports.
Prosecutors told jurors that Davis helped set the deadly plot in motion as retaliation after members of Shakur’s group attacked his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand hours earlier following a Mike Tyson boxing match.
According to the state’s case, Davis did not fire the fatal shots himself, but provided the gun and played a central role in arranging the ambush that killed the 25-year-old hip-hop superstar.
A key part of the prosecution’s argument centered on a 2008 arrangement Davis made with federal investigators who were examining the killing of Marion Wallace, widely known as the Notorious B.I.G.
Davis allegedly believed that agreement, known as a proffer, protected him from prosecution. Prosecutors argued, however, that it did not grant him immunity for later charges tied to any admission of involvement in Shakur’s murder.
Investigators said Davis went on to provide highly specific information about the Tupac Shakur shooting — including where passengers were seated in the car used in the drive-by and details about earlier gang confrontations that preceded the rapper’s death.
Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis is pictured in court on Monday amid closing arguments in his murder trial
Tupac Shakur (pictured in 1996), was shot dead in a drive-by when he was aged 25
Shakur was shot dead inside a black BMW on the night of September 7, 1996
In closing arguments on Monday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors that Davis acquired a gun and ‘went hunting’ for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion ‘Suge’ Knight.
Palal acknowledged that Davis’ accounts of the killing evolved over the years but argued those differences reflected Davis’ changing motivations and efforts to protect himself. One critical detail, he said, remained consistent: Davis repeatedly placed himself inside a white Cadillac from which the shots were fired.
‘The core facts remain. The material facts remain,’ Palal said.
But Davis’ defense attorney, Michael Sanft, challenged jurors to identify evidence outside his client’s own statements that placed him in Las Vegas or inside the Cadillac on the night Shakur was shot.
He also noted there was an absence of surveillance footage, phone records and other evidence putting Davis there.
‘They have nothing in this case that says that man was here in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996,’ Sanft said, pointing toward Davis.
The panel of 16 jurors, four of whom are alternates, heard testimony from 24 prosecution witnesses and three defense witnesses over nine days.
The trial now brings to a head a decades-old case that for years has drawn the eyes of hip-hop fans and true crime experts alike.
Shakur, who was considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, was in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, and stopped at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up beside him, and shots were fired. He died six days later from his wounds.
Knight was also wounded but survived.
Mopreme Shakur is pictured leaving the courthouse in Las Vegas during a recess in the murder trial on Monday
For years, nobody had been charged in the rapper´s death until Davis began making public statements, saying he was in the Cadillac and gave the gun to others in the backseat. Davis described the shooting as an act of retaliation after Knight and Shakur´s entourage beat up Davis´ nephew hours before the shooting.
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Under Nevada law, someone who helps another person commit murder can be convicted of the crime.
Davis is the only person still alive among the four men prosecutors say were in the Cadillac. The man who prosecutors say originally gave the gun to Davis is also dead.
Palal told jurors that if they believe Davis’ statements, they do not have to be independently corroborated with additional evidence.
Still, he pointed to the rivalry between the South Side Compton Crips and Mob Piru, the fight with Orlando ‘Baby Lane’ Anderson and testimony that members of Shakur´s circle identified Anderson and Davis as suspects the night of the shooting.
Witnesses had also testified to the heated gang rivalry between the South Side Compton Crips and Mob Piru, which were associated with dueling record companies Bad Boy Records and Death Row Records.
‘Who fired is not the question,’ Palal said.
Prosecutors haven’t argued that Davis pulled the trigger, but instead that he was criminally responsible because he provided the gun and ordered the attack.
Palal also argued the shooting was premeditated, pointing to testimony and Davis´ accounts that the group searched for Shakur before spotting him on the road and making a U-turn.
‘It’s a plan, not an impulse,’ Palal said.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal held up Davis´ 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, and played an interview in which Davis encouraged people to buy it to get the ‘real truth.’
Davis’ defense attorney, Michael Sanft, challenged jurors to identify evidence outside his client’s own statements that placed him in Las Vegas or inside the Cadillac on the night Shakur was shot
Palal held up Davis´ 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, and played an interview in which Davis encouraged people to buy it to get the ‘real truth.’ Although the book contains a disclaimer saying some facts were changed, Palal argued that names, hotels and other details changed while the central account did not.
‘For nearly 18 years, Duane Davis has told the police, television, books, YouTube interviews – anybody that will listen, he has told – he is responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur,’ Palal argued. ‘Tell him you hear him – find him guilty.’
Palal also rejected the defense’s contention that Davis fabricated his accounts to make money.
‘It is an entirely different proposition to be profiting from a murder,’ Palal said. ‘And that is what Mr. Davis is doing.’
Sanft also turned to his client’s memoir during his closing argument. While reading an excerpt, he said the N-word aloud, prompting people watching in an overflow courtroom to recoil and shake their heads.
In multiple interviews, Davis said he handed the gun to the back seat, but in others as well as in his book, Davis wouldn´t say who pulled the trigger.
In a rebuttal argument, prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo pointed to a scrapbook Davis kept containing articles about Shakur.
‘This guy’s scrapbooking his murder, for God’s sake,’ DiGiacomo told jurors.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo speaks to the jury during rebuttal closing arguments
The prosecution’s witnesses included a gang expert who described Davis as the shot caller that younger gang members had to obey. Sanft asked jurors if there was any evidence that Davis had ever called the shots before or after the shooting.
During the trial, investigators said a Las Vegas hotel bill was found at Davis´ residence during a police search, but it wasn´t clear when it was dated – or where that evidence is currently located.
The case is nearly 30 years old, which has affected the kind of evidence presented in court. Prosecutors warned jurors that material collected in the ´90s is different from what law enforcement collects today, including hotel surveillance video from the night of the shooting.
Sentencing in Davis’ case is now scheduled for October 13.
But Davis has indicated he will appeal the verdict.
