Tupac Shakur murder: Duane "Keffe D" Davis found guilty nearly 30 years after the fact

Nearly thirty years after Tupac Shakur's death, American justice has reached its verdict. A Las Vegas jury found Duane "Keffe D" Davis guilty of the murder of the famous American rapper , who was shot dead in September 1996.

The jurors deliberated for approximately three hours before reaching their decision.

Aged 63, Duane Davis was found guilty of murder with the use of a deadly weapon for the purpose of promoting, facilitating or supporting the activities of a criminal gang .

According to the prosecution, Davis ordered the drive-by shooting that targeted Tupac Shakur on the night of September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas . Seriously wounded by several bullets, the rapper died six days later at the age of only 25.

A rivalry between gangs forms the backdrop.

Duane Davis is a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips , a California gang.

Although Davis and Tupac Shakur had no known personal conflict, their circles moved in two rival Los Angeles gangs. Tupac was close to the Mob Piru , affiliated with the Bloods, while Davis belonged to the Crips.

At the center of the case was also Orlando Anderson , Davis' nephew and an important member of the South Side Compton Crips.

A few hours before the shooting, a violent altercation broke out at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas after a boxing match. Tupac Shakur allegedly punched Anderson, then 22 years old, knocking him to the ground, before several members of the rapper's entourage joined in the assault.

For investigators, this incident was the trigger for the shooting that occurred later that evening.

Statements that eventually caught up with him

One of the most remarkable elements of this case lies in the numerous statements made over the years by Duane Davis himself.

In his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend , Davis recounted his version of the events leading up to Tupac's death.

He claimed, among other things, to have supplied the weapon used in the shooting and admitted to being in the vehicle from which the shots were fired. However, he maintained that he himself had not pulled the trigger.

Davis had also repeatedly mentioned his involvement in interviews given over the years.

These statements became important elements of the investigation.

An arrest 27 years after the murder

In July 2023, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department conducted a search of Davis's home in Henderson, Nevada , as part of the reopening of the investigation into the death of Tupac Shakur.

Investigators had seized several documents and personal belongings and questioned Davis on site.

On September 29, 2023 , more than 27 years after the shooting, Duane Davis was finally arrested after being indicted by a Clark County grand jury.

Despite his own statements in his book and during various interviews, Davis pleaded not guilty . His defense argued, in particular, that some of his stories had been invented or greatly exaggerated in order to sell books and maintain his reputation.

The jury ultimately rejected this version.

The conviction of Duane "Keffe D" Davis thus constitutes a historic step in one of the most famous criminal cases in the history of American hip-hop, nearly three decades after the assassination of Tupac Shakur .