A VERDICT has been reached in the long-awaited trial of the only man ever charged over the murder of rap legend Tupac Shakur.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, was found guilty of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon nearly three decades after the star was gunned down.
Duane Davis enters the courtroom during his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 27, 2026 Credit: POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Rapper Tupac Shakur performs at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois in March 1994 Credit: Getty Images
The decision was handed down at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, bringing one of the most notorious unsolved killings in music history closer to a conclusion.
He was found guilty of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote or assist a criminal gang.
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Davis had pleaded not guilty and denied having any role in the September 1996 drive-by shooting.
He was accused of helping organize the revenge attack after Shakur and members of his entourage beat Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, inside the MGM Grand earlier that night.
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Prosecutors never alleged that Davis himself pulled the trigger.
Instead, they argued the former South Side Compton Crips leader helped set the killing in motion and supplied the gun used in the attack.
Under Nevada law, someone who aids or helps arrange a murder can be held responsible even if they did not fire the fatal shots.
Shakur, 25, was riding in a black BMW driven by Death Row Records boss Marion “Suge” Knight on September 7, 1996, when a white Cadillac pulled up alongside them near the Las Vegas Strip.
Gunfire erupted, leaving Shakur critically wounded and Knight injured.
The California Love rapper died in hospital six days later on September 13.
The killing stunned the music world and became one of hip-hop’s most enduring mysteries.
No one was charged for nearly 27 years.
The case eventually zeroed in on Davis after he repeatedly discussed the shooting in interviews, conversations with investigators and his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend.
The bullet-riddled car in which rapper Tupac Shakur was fatally shot in September 1996, in Las Vegas Credit: AP
Tupac Shakur and Marion ‘Suge’ Knight pictured riding in a BMW moments before the fatal shooting in September 1996 Credit: Tupac Shakur/Century
Jurors were played hours of recordings in which Davis described being inside the Cadillac on the night Shakur was shot.
In his earlier accounts, Davis said he and three other men went looking for Shakur and Knight after Anderson was beaten.
He said he obtained a gun and passed it toward the back of the Cadillac before shots were fired into Shakur’s BMW.
Davis previously named his nephew Anderson as the gunman, although other accounts have pointed to another passenger, Deandrae Smith.
Prosecutors did not ask jurors to decide who actually fired the weapon.
The other three men Davis said were inside the Cadillac have all since died, leaving him as the only surviving alleged occupant.
Prosecutors argued Davis’ descriptions of the shooting remained consistent on the crucial points and matched information investigators had developed about the case.
But defense attorney Michael Sanft told jurors his client had spent years exaggerating and telling sensational stories for attention and money.
The defense argued there was no physical evidence establishing Davis was even inside the Cadillac when Shakur was killed.
Davis did not testify in his own defense.
Exhibits from the murder scene of Tupac Shakur shown to the grand jury in Las Vegas Credit: The Eighth Judicial District Court Clark County Nevada
The California Love rapper died in hospital six days later on September 13 Credit: Tupac Shakur/Century
His lawyers instead called former investigators in an effort to show that key parts of his earlier accounts could never be independently confirmed.
Retired Las Vegas homicide detective Dan Long told jurors he had tried to verify details Davis gave police during an interview years after the killing.
“I wasn’t able to verify any of that,” Long testified.
Long said he could not independently establish that Davis had been inside the Cadillac and was unable to find records supporting some other parts of his story.
But prosecutors pointed out that Davis had identified the same four alleged occupants of the car that investigators had already focused on.
Long also testified that he believed there had been enough probable cause to seek an arrest warrant after interviewing Davis, although prosecutors at the time told investigators to hold off while the case was reviewed.
The trial also saw dramatic testimony from former Mob Piru member James “Mob James” McDonald, who openly told the courtroom he did not want his answers to help send Davis to prison.
“You’re asking me something that wouldn’t be good for [Davis],” McDonald told the defense during one tense exchange.
Jurors ultimately heard 24 prosecution witnesses and three defense witnesses across nine days of evidence before the case headed to closing arguments.
Prosecutors urged the panel to trust Davis’ own words, arguing his years of public comments had effectively placed him at the heart of the revenge plot.
Davis was arrested and indicted in September 2023, reviving a case that had remained without a prosecution for almost three decades Credit: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
Rapper Tupac Shakur poses for photos backstage after his performance at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois in March 1994 Credit: Getty Images
The defense maintained those same statements could not be treated as a reliable confession when investigators lacked hard evidence to back them up.
Davis was arrested and indicted in September 2023, reviving a case that had remained without a prosecution for almost three decades.
Shakur’s relatives attended the trial, which unfolded just weeks before the 30th anniversary of his death.
The rapper remains one of the most influential artists in hip-hop, with his killing continuing to fuel questions, investigations and theories for decades.
