Man Convicted of Murdering Rapper Tupac Shakur 30 Years Later
A Los Angeles jury convicted Duane “Keffe D” Davis of first-degree murder for his role in the 1996 shooting death of rapper tupac Shakur. Davis, aged 63, was found guilty after an 11-day trial that lasted less than three hours. Prosecutors presented evidence that Davis planned the drive-by shooting, supplied the weapon, and was present in the getaway vehicle, although they did not prove he fired the gun himself. Shakur was shot on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas following a boxing match and died six days later.
Prosecutors highlighted Davis’s prior admissions, including in his 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” where he acknowledged involvement in the crime, which contributed to reopening the cold case. The case also involved testimony that Davis’s nephew, Orlando Anderson, was the actual shooter, but Anderson was killed in 1998. Davis faces potential life imprisonment and plans to appeal the verdict.The jury’s decision signifies the first conviction in the longstanding mystery surrounding Tupac’s murder.
A Las Vegas jury on Monday convicted Duane “Keffe D” Davis of first-degree murder in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur.
Davis, 63, is the first person ever found guilty in the case.
The panel needed less than three hours after an 11-day trial, NBC News reported.
Prosecutors did not tell jurors he pulled the trigger. They said he planned the drive-by, supplied the gun, and was in the white Cadillac when the shots were fired.
Under Nevada law, a person who helps commit a murder can be convicted of the crime.
Shakur was shot on Sept. 7, 1996, after a Mike Tyson fight night in Las Vegas. He died six days later.
Hours before the shooting, Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight beat Davis’s nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand, prosecutors said.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told the jury Davis then “went hunting,” WABC reported.
“For nearly 18 years, Duane Davis has told the police, television, books, YouTube interviewers, anybody that will listen” that he was responsible, Palal said. “Tell him you hear him. Find him guilty.”
A major exhibit was Davis’s 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend.”
In that book, he described having a role in the killing. The publication helped reopen the cold case.
Prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo said Davis had been “scrapbooking his murder.”
Defense attorney Michael Sanft argued Davis’s stories conflicted with one another and with the book. He said the only agreed fact was that Shakur was shot in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996.
Anderson, whom prosecutors named as the shooter, was killed in 1998. Davis is the only person still alive who rode in that Cadillac, the state said.
A gang enhancement was dropped because of witness logistics.
Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, cried and hugged prosecutors when the verdict was read.
District Judge Carli Kierny ordered Davis held until sentencing on Oct. 13. He faces up to life in prison and said he will appeal.
He raised a fist as he left court.
For 30 years, the murder was a rumor mill. A jury has now put a name on the record.
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