A Clark County jury on Monday found Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, guilty of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon for his role in the 1996 shooting of musician Tupac Shakur. The verdict was reached after approximately three hours of deliberation, concluding an 11-day trial that centered on events that occurred nearly three decades ago.
Sentencing for Davis is scheduled for October 13, where he faces a potential sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Following the verdict, Davis informed the court of his intent to appeal the decision.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, orchestrated the September 7, 1996, shooting in retaliation for a physical altercation involving his nephew and members of Shakur’s entourage hours earlier at a Las Vegas casino.
“Duane Davis, in the culture of gangs, could not let that stand,” prosecutor Binu Palal stated during closing arguments. Palal told the jury that Davis acquired a firearm and organized a group to locate Shakur following the casino incident.
The prosecution presented evidence alleging that Davis was in the front passenger seat of a white Cadillac that pulled alongside the BMW in which Shakur was a passenger. Prosecutors said Davis passed a handgun to a passenger in the back seat and directed them to open fire. Shakur was struck multiple times and died from his injuries six days later. The driver of the BMW, Marion “Suge” Knight, was also wounded in the shooting. According to prosecutors, Davis is the only person who was in the Cadillac that night who is still alive.
The defense, led by attorney Michael Sanft, contended that the prosecution’s case was built entirely on Davis’s own public statements, which they characterized as fabrications for financial gain and notoriety. Sanft argued that Davis’s 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” and other interviews contained fictional accounts designed to sell his book.
“You’re reading a book that is fiction and not fact,” Sanft told the jury. “But the state wants you to believe that this is somehow a confession.” The defense maintained that there was no physical evidence, such as weapon or vehicle forensics, directly linking Davis to the murder.
The case against Davis gained new momentum following the publication of his memoir and his participation in various media interviews where he described his involvement in the events of that night. Prosecutors used clips from these accounts as central evidence in their case. Davis’s legal team had unsuccessfully attempted to have these statements excluded from the trial.
The shooting of Shakur, 25, has remained one of the nation’s most high-profile unsolved cases, generating widespread public interest and speculation for decades. Davis, who pleaded not guilty, was indicted on the murder charge in 2023.
