Duane Davis, the former Crips leader convicted in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years to life in prison.
Davis, 63, was found guilty in August of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon. Judge Carli Kierny imposed the sentence Tuesday afternoon in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“The world never forgot about him and his death,” Judge Kierny said of the legendary rapper.
Tupac’s siblings, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur and Maurice Shakur, delivered emotional impact statements before the sentence was handed down. Sekyiwa described the night her brother was killed as “a night of hunting and murdering.”
“He was my shining star — my prince,” Sekyiwa said.
Maurice said Tupac never received a trial, describing his death as devastating not only for their family but also for popular culture.
Sekyiwa urged the judge to impose the maximum sentence, saying Davis should be held accountable for the pain he caused her family and the wider world.
Through tears, she remembered Tupac as her protector and said she had been forced to live for three decades without him.
Duane Davis, 63, was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years to life in prison.
Davis received the maximum sentence in Clark County District Court. He remained stone-faced as the judge sentenced him to 40 years to life.
Sekyiwa said her brother’s death “crippled [her] family emotionally.” She revealed that she has since been hospitalized multiple times for depression, suicidal ideation, trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Davis listened to her testimony in shackles and prison clothing. He showed little emotion as Tupac’s sister broke down while recalling his brutal killing.
“Both of my children were raised in my grief, so they have trust issues, abandonment issues, relationship issues,” Sekyiwa said.
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She noted that Tupac was murdered shortly after turning 25 and asked the judge to consider how different the world might have been had he lived.
Sekyiwa also celebrated her brother’s artistic legacy, saying he had written manifestos and developed aspirations for advocacy.
Comparing Tupac with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, she asked the courtroom to imagine what might have happened if those figures had been killed before reaching the age of 26.
“I miss my brother. I miss the scars on his head. I miss the way he ate. I miss his recipe for barbecue chicken. I miss his laugh. He was sloppy with his laugh. So full, so big,” she recalled through tears.
“I was the little sister that just wanted to be with her brother.”
Sekyiwa (left) spoke emotionally about the toll her brother’s death took on the family. She is pictured after a jury found Davis guilty in August.
Prosecutors said Davis organized the attack after members of Shakur’s entourage assaulted his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas a few hours earlier, following a Mike Tyson fight.
Davis then allegedly supplied the weapon and set in motion the shooting that killed the hip-hop icon, but did not pull the trigger.
The prosecution pointed to a 2008 agreement Davis reached with federal investigators who were looking into the death of Christopher Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls.
Davis was approached about the murder of Wallace, but instead talked about the Shakur shooting.
He had allegedly believed the deal, called a proffer, offered him immunity, but was not shielded from any future prosecution on state murder charges.
The final piece of the puzzle came when Davis published his memoir, Compton Street Legend, in 2019.
He described in the book how he played a role in Shakur’s murder, which led to a renewed investigation into the 1996 killing.
