A Las Vegas court on Monday found Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a former Los Angeles gang leader, guilty of murdering rap icon Tupac Shakur in 1996. The jury returned its verdict after only a few hours of deliberation, nearly 30 years after Shakur’s death. The foreperson announced, “Count one, murder with use of a deadly weapon, guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon.
“Davis, 63, faces the possibility of life imprisonment without parole. Addressing Judge Carli Kierny after the verdict, he indicated his intention to appeal.
Prosecutors said Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, ordered the September 7, 1996 killing after his nephew was beaten by members of Shakur’s entourage at a Las Vegas casino. Prosecutor Binu Palal told the court during closing arguments that Davis could not let the incident go unanswered, so he obtained a firearm, gathered his associates, and went after Shakur.
Shakur was in Las Vegas for a Mike Tyson heavyweight bout when he was shot roughly two hours after the casino altercation. The fatal shots were fired by a gunman in a white Cadillac that pulled alongside the BMW in which Shakur was riding as a front-seat passenger.
