Tupac Shakur murder trial: Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis convicted in 1996 killing of rapper

LOS ANGELES: Nearly 30 years after rap icon Tupac Shakur was killed in a shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, a Nevada jury has found a former Compton gang leader guilty of first-degree murder.

After a day of closing arguments, Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis was found guilty of murder with the use of a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang, Variety reported, citing information from ABC News.

The jury deliberated for roughly three hours after a weeks-long trial in Las Vegas. Prosecutors and police claimed that Davis orchestrated Shakur’s murder in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, and handed the gunman the murder weapon. They believe that the actual shooter was either Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, Davis’ nephew, or another man who was in the backseat of a car.

The jury has found Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty in the murder of Tupac Shakur, 30 years after the rapper was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.

Jurors deliberated for less than three hours before finding him guilty of murder with the use of a deadly weapon with the… pic.twitter.com/fbS95K18Pr

— ABC News (@ABC) September 1, 2026

During his closing arguments, prosecutor Binu Palal said that the case was “drenched in circumstantial evidence” and corroborating witnesses, in addition to Davis’ own statements over the years to media and in his own memoir to show that he was guilty of aiding the murder. “For nearly 18 years, Duane Davis has told the police, television, books, YouTube interviewers — anybody that will listen, he has told — he is responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur”, said Palal. “Tell him you hear him — find him guilty”.

Davis’ attorney Michael Sanft, meanwhile, argued that the only proof that Davis was responsible for Shakur’s murder was through his own confessions, which did not constitute real evidence. “We have to ask ourselves the question really at this particular point: Why are we here 30 years later if Duane Davis had actually confessed — truly confessed?” he said.

Davis is set to be sentenced on October 13 and will remain in custody without bail. He has said he plans to appeal the verdict after sentencing.

On the night of Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times with a Glock .22 pistol while his car was stopped at a red light in Paradise, Nev. The bullets came from a white Cadillac that had pulled up alongside Shakur’s vehicle — which was being driven by his label boss, Marion “Suge” Knight — and struck the hip-hop artist in the chest, arm and thigh, while one of the bullets grazed Knight in the head. Shakur succumbed to his injuries six days later, as per Variety. (ANI)