Nearly 30 years after the fatal Las Vegas drive-by shooting of rap icon Tupac Shakur, a jury found Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty of first-degree murder. The landmark verdict marks the first conviction in connection with Shakur’s 1996 death.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors framed the 63-year-old former gang leader as the “shot caller” who orchestrated the retaliatory shooting and handed the murder weapon to the gunman. Their case leaned heavily on Davis’ past police interviews, media appearances, and his 2019 memoir, in which he repeatedly placed himself inside the white Cadillac.
Defense Claims Fabrication: Davis’ defense attorney, Michael Sanft, challenged the prosecution’s narrative by arguing that Davis was not actually in Las Vegas on the night of September 7, 1996.
“Untrue Braggadocio”: Defense counsel insisted Davis’ past admissions were complete fabrications spun for financial gain and notoriety, pointing out the lack of physical evidence, surveillance footage, or phone records directly proving his presence in the car.
Despite defense attempts to dismiss Davis’ accounts as tall tales, jurors deliberated for less than three hours before returning a guilty verdict of murder with a deadly weapon for the benefit of a criminal gang. Davis faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and plans to appeal.
