Tupac Shakur Murder Trial: Duane 'Keffe D' Davis Found Guilty Nearly 30 Years After Rapper Was Fatally Shot in Las Vegas

Former gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been found guilty for the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur.

The first-degree murder ruling came on Monday, August 31, after the jury deliberated for less than three hours, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Prosecutors claimed the former Compton gang leader, 63, was the mastermind behind the killing, alleging he gave a handgun to members of the Southside Crips-Burris Street gang.

Shakur, who was 25, was riding in a car driven by Suge Knight on September 7, 1996 when he was shot multiple times as they drove on Las Vegas' Sunset Strip. Knight survived the shooting while Shakur died six days later.

Prosecutors believe the shooting was in retaliation for Knight, Shakur and others getting into a fight with Davis' nephew Orlando Anderson earlier that day. (Anderson died in 1998.) In Nevada, an individual can be charged with murder for helping someone commit the crime.

Davis, who did not testify, could face life in prison but has not received his sentence. His lawyers indicated their plans to challenge the conviction.

In court, the prosecutor played a recording of a 2008 LAPD interview in which Davis recalled being in the car with Anderson, Terrence Brown and Deandrae “Big Dre” Smith. The interview was part of a “proffer,” an agreement where someone can provide information to the authorities in exchange that their words can't be used against them.

"If it had been on my side, I was going to blast," Davis said in the recording, claiming he gave the gun to Anderson, who fired. "I saw a bullet go into Suge’s head. I thought he was dead."

Davis recounted part of the story in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, which was not a part of the deal he made with the LAPD. At trial, his lawyers claimed the book was for entertainment purposes only and not factual.

"I hate [that] I put my family in jeopardy like this,” Davis previously said of allegedly making false statements in his book. “I said, that’s…that’s one regret I have for my…my kids, my wife, my wife’s kids.”

In 2023, police raided a home connected to Davis and seized evidence relating to the case. He was arrested and indicted that September, pleading not guilty.

Not long before going to trial, Davis once again denied being responsible for Shakur's death, telling 8 News Now, "I wasn’t in Nevada, period."