Former gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been found guilty of orchestrating the 1996 murder of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur, bringing the nearly 30-year-old cold case to its first conviction.
The 63-year-old was convicted in Las Vegas of one count of murder with a deadly weapon over the drive-by shooting that killed Shakur on 7 September 1996.
Prosecutors argued that Davis ordered the attack and supplied the gun used by his nephew, Orlando Anderson, who was accused of firing the fatal shots. Anderson, who denied involvement, died in an unrelated shooting in 2008.
Davis admitted during a 2008 police interview that he was inside the vehicle from which the shots were fired, but maintained that he did not pull the trigger. His statements later featured in his 2019 memoir and other public accounts.
The prosecution argued that Davis was the gang leader who organised the attack as retaliation after Anderson was involved in a confrontation with Shakur and his associates earlier that night.
Davis’ defence maintained that his claims were exaggerated stories designed to sell books and generate publicity. Jurors, however, found him guilty.
Shakur was just 25 years old when he was killed and went on to become one of the most influential figures in hip-hop history, selling more than 75 million records worldwide.
Davis is due to be sentenced on 13 October and has indicated that he plans to appeal.
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