Duane "Keffe D" Davis Found Guilty of Orchestrating 1996 Murder of Tupac Shakur
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Ex-gang boss Duane "Keffe D" Davis guilty of orchestrating 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur
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Figure caption: Watch: What it was like inside court for Tupac Shakur’s murder trial verdict
By Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty, in the Las Vegas court; Christal Hayes, Shaimaa Khalil and Regan Morris
Published 1 September 2026, 03:14 BST
Updated 14 minutes ago
Former gang boss Duane "Keffe D" Davis" has been found guilty of orchestrating the murder of Tupac Shakur – the first conviction in a cold case that has intrigued hip-hop fans for nearly 30 years.
The jury found him guilty of one count of murder with a deadly weapon for the rap superstar’s death in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas on 7 September 1996.
Dressed in a black suit, the 63-year-old stood impassively in the Las Vegas court as the verdict was read, before stating he would appeal.
During the trial, the court heard a recording of a police interview in 2008 in which Davis said he was in the car from which shots were fired, but did not himself fire the bullets that killed Shakur.
Prosecutors argued that although Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang, did not personally fire the gun, he ordered the shooting and supplied the gun his nephew Orlando Anderson used to open fire.
Anderson died in an unrelated shooting in 2008, having denied involvement in the killing of Shakur.
As the verdict was read out on Monday, Shakur’s relatives held hands, some hugging and crying.
Shakur was 25 when he was slain at the height of his career as one of rap’s most influential voices. He has sold more than 75 million records worldwide.
For 30 years, the case remained one of America’s most famous cold cases, spurring countless conspiracies – but never a conviction, until now.
Image source: Getty Images
During the trial, prosecutors said Davis had planned the shooting as retaliation after Anderson was involved in a fight with Shakur and his crew in Las Vegas just hours earlier.
Shakur’s murder happened at a time of intense rivalry between the East Coast and West Coast rap scenes and amid gang feuds between the Bloods and Crips, which had deep roots within hip-hop at the time.
His family appeared emotional in court, his sister embracing a prosecutor after the verdict was read while others sat crying nearby.
Outside, devoted fans of Shakur were similarly crying and cheering.
The key evidence in the case was Davis’ own words, in which he repeatedly and publicly acknowledged being inside the white Cadillac from where the deadly shots were fired.
He had told authorities about his role in Shakur’s death during a secret 2008 police interview related to the death of fellow rapper Notorious B.I.G., real name Christopher Wallace. Davis elaborated further on his role in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend.
But his book and media interviews voided a protective agreement he had established with authorities that had blocked any criminal charges being filed, with the court ruling his police interview could be used in the murder trial against him.
