Jury convicts man of first-degree murder for 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur
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Duane Davis stands during a break in closing arguments during his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (Steve Marcus/Pool Photo via AP)
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FILE - Rapper Tupac Shakur attends a voter registration event in South Central Los Angeles, Aug. 15, 1996. (AP Photo/Frank Wiese, File)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A jury found Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis guilty of orchestrating the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, marking the first conviction in a case that has gripped hip-hop fans for decades.
The 63-year-old Davis was convicted Monday of murder with the use of a deadly weapon and could be sentenced to life in prison.
The jury deliberated for 3 hours after a weeklong trial in Las Vegas.
The panel of 16 jurors, four of whom are alternates, heard testimony from 24 prosecution witnesses and three defense witnesses over nine days.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors in closing arguments that Davis acquired a gun and “went hunting” for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight after they beat up Davis’ nephew earlier that night.
Palal acknowledged that Davis’ accounts of the killing evolved over the years but argued those differences reflected Davis’ changing motivations and efforts to protect himself.
One critical detail, he said, remained consistent: Davis repeatedly placed himself inside a white Cadillac from which the shots were fired.
“The core facts remain. The material facts remain,” Palal said.
Davis’ defense attorney, Michael Sanft, challenged jurors to identify evidence outside Davis’ own statements that placed him in Las Vegas or inside the Cadillac on the night Shakur was shot.
He pointed to the absence of surveillance footage, phone records and other evidence putting Davis there.
“They have nothing in this case that says that man was here in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996,” Sanft said, pointing toward Davis.
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