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It took 30 years, but a Las Vegas jury has handed down a verdict in a case that involves one of the most famous and lasting cold cases in America - the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur.
On Monday, a jury found Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, guilty of first-degree murder and the use of a deadly weapon. He was found guilty of organizing a gang hit that murdered one of the most talented and influential artists of his generation. The jury reached a verdict in less than three hours.
Davis was a leader of the South Side Compton Crips and the jury did not find him to be the shooter. Instead, Davis was found to be the "shot caller" and was found guilty of organizing a gang hit and handing a gun to a shooter in the back seat of a white Cadillac alongside the driver of the vehicle. Shakur was shot four times in his vehicle. He died from his injuries six days later at the age of 25. A bullet also grazed the head of Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight, who was riding with Shakur during the attack.
The shooting came after a beating. Shakur along with Knight were in attendance at a Mike Tyson fight, and surveillance footage captured Shakur and Knight's group engaging in a fight against Davis's nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, inside the MGM Grand. Prosecutors said Davis went after Shakur in retaliation.
Davis's own mouth was the biggest break in the case. He publicly took credit for what he claimed was his role — through police interviews, documentaries, and his 2019 memoir "Compton Street Legend." In a 2008 FBI interview related to the Notorious B.I.G. murder investigation, Davis placed himself inside the white Cadillac and stated he handed the gun to the men in the back seat.
The defense argued Davis was promoting himself and his book by lying — that there was no murder weapon, no DNA, and no fingerprints placing Davis at the crime scene. Davis did not testify in his own defense.
The jury wasn't buying it. Davis now faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars. Sentencing is scheduled for October 13. Judge Carli Kierny ordered him held in jail until then.
All three other men suspected of participating in the shooting have since died. Davis is the only person ever charged and convicted for the murder of Tupac Shakur.
Tupac's sister, Seiyiwa "Set" Shakur, wept quietly when the verdict was read. Davis raised his fist briefly as he was escorted from the courtroom.
For a murder that captivated and haunted American culture for three decades, Monday's verdict closes a chapter — but the larger story of gang violence, the East Coast-West Coast rap war, and what the music industry looked like in the 1990s remains very much part of the American story. It took 30 years. At least the system got here.
