Jury Convicts Duane "Keffe D" Davis of First-Degree Murder in Tupac Shakur Shooting

A Nevada jury on Monday convicted 63-year-old Duane "Keffe D" Davis of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon for his role in the 1996 killing of rap artist Tupac Shakur. The verdict was reached after less than three hours of deliberation following a week-long trial in Las Vegas.

Prosecutors argued that Davis acquired a firearm and directed gunfire from a white Cadillac that stopped beside Shakur’s car at a traffic light, resulting in Shakur’s death six days later and injuries to Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight. Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors, "He is responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur. Tell him you hear him. Find him guilty."

The prosecution presented testimony from 24 witnesses and highlighted Davis’s own statements, including excerpts from his 2019 memoir and past interviews in which he described the incident as retaliation for an earlier assault on his nephew. In contrast, Davis’s attorney Michael Sanft contended that no physical evidence linked his client to the shooting and that Davis’s public remarks were exaggerated for profit. > "They have nothing in this case that says that man was here in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996," Sanft said during closing arguments.

The jury, composed of 16 members and four alternates, found Davis guilty on a single count. Prosecutors indicated that a gang-enhancement charge would be dismissed due to witness logistics. Sentencing is scheduled for October.

Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur, was visibly emotional after the verdict, while Davis’s son covered his face. The case, which has attracted sustained public and media attention for more than two decades, centers on a rivalry between Los Angeles gang factions linked to competing record labels at the time of the shooting.